Advocacy Tips 101: Looking Back, Leaning Forward, and Tying it all Together

As we close out the year, December offers us a moment to pause and reflect on the advocacy work we continue to do together. This past year has reminded us that advocacy is never a single-issue endeavor. Each issue we speak up for is woven into the larger fabric of community well-being, equity, and resilience. Whether we have spoken up on specific aspects of Medicare and Social Security or broader issues like food insecurity and homelessness, progress comes when we recognize the interconnectedness of these issues. Advocacy is about building bridges across silos, and December is a time to honor those bridges while preparing to strengthen them in the year ahead.

One powerful example of interconnected advocacy lies in the relationship between health homes for seniors and long-term care programs. Health homes provide coordinated medical and social services for those living with chronic conditions, while long-term care programs support daily living needs such as bathing, meals, and mobility. These two systems may appear distinct, but they are deeply interdependent. When health homes are underfunded, seniors decline more quickly and require long-term care sooner. When long-term care programs are cut, health homes can be forced to absorb needs beyond their scope, straining staff and resources. Advocating for one program inevitably strengthens the case for the other, because together they form a continuum of care that sustains dignity, independence, and cost savings across the system.

This interdependence is not just about budgets—it is about people. Seniors with disabilities, limited income, or without family support rely disproportionately on both health homes and long-term care. Fragmented advocacy risks leaving these individuals behind, while integrated advocacy ensures equity and access. Policy silos may divide health care, housing, and social services into separate budget lines, but seniors experience them as a single continuum. Advocacy must therefore bridge these silos, reminding legislators that investing in one program without the other undermines the entire system. By showing how interconnected policies ripple across communities, we strengthen our case for inclusive, sustainable solutions.

In January 2026, the Washington State Legislature will convene and our collective voice will be needed more than ever. Now is the time to prepare. Identify your legislators, learn their priorities, and craft concise talking points that not only raise general awareness of issues affecting seniors and people with disabilities, but also explore how many of these issues might be interconnected. Share personal stories that illustrate the continuum of care and join coalitions to amplify your message. Legislators respond to clarity, persistence, and unity. Utilizing the connected nature of issues can be a powerful message. For example, using health homes and long-term care, a message could be: “Investing in health homes reduces long-term care costs. Strengthening long-term care sustains the gains made by health homes.” By entering the session with this interconnected framing, we can help shape policies that honor both fiscal responsibility and human dignity.

So, this December, let us also renew our commitment to advocacy in the year ahead. Advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint, and interconnected issues require persistence, coalition-building, and systems thinking. Take time to consider the issues you care about most—what other policies are they tied to, and how can you frame your message to show those connections? In doing so, we prepare not only for legislative debates but for the deeper work of civic renewal. Love, resilience, and dignity are not abstract ideals. They are civic forces that sustain our advocacy energy. As we then step into January, let us carry these forces with us, ready to remind policymakers that interconnected solutions are the only way forward.

Joel Domingo is Chair of the Advisory Council’s Advocacy Committee and Dean of the Research Institute and Director of Research and Professor at City University of Seattle, where he leads the university’s overall scholarship and research objectives. His work focuses on leadership development and civic capacity building for creating social transformation in the public and community nonprofit spheres.