Diverse Elders Coalition

March 03, 2021    |    

  • A A A
    • Who We Are
      • The Coalition
        • Who We Are
        • Our History
        • Our Team
        • Our Supporters
        • Employment Opportunities
        • Contact Us
      • Diverse Elders
        • AAPI Elders
        • Black Elders
        • AI/AN Elders
        • Hispanic Elders
        • LGBT Elders
    • What We Do
      • Current Campaigns
        • Civic Engagement
        • Family Caregiving
        • Health Reform
        • Public Education
      • Past Campaigns
        • State Advocacy: Georgia
        • State Advocacy: New Mexico
        • White House Conference on Aging
    • What to Know
      • Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
      • Data Collection and Disaggregation
      • HIV & Aging
      • Immigration Reform
      • Medicare & Medicaid
      • Older Americans Act
    • What You Can Do
      • Tell Your Story
      • Explore Our Stories
      • Share Our Blog Posts
    • Library
    • Blog

    Blog

    Comments 0 Comments

    Diverse Elders

    June 27, 2019

    SEARAC’s LAT Program: The Power of Advocacy

    For the last 20 years, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) has been mentoring advocates from Southeast Asian American (SEAA) and ally communities. Through SEARAC’s Leadership and Advocacy Training (LAT) program, SEAA members and allies participate in three days of training to develop communication and advocacy skills. SEARAC’s LAT program enables participants to transform their community’s story into policy change with focuses on health policy, education policy, and immigration policy. The program ends with a day of advocacy where participants meet with their Congressional representatives and/or staff to address the issues in their respective communities. Last week I got to attend SEARAC’s LAT program and it was one of the most memorable experiences I have had.

    A street behind my apartment complex filled with homeless camps supporting families.

    During my time at SEARAC’s LAT program, I advocated on the issue of homelessness in my community. Homelessness has always been a problem in my neighborhood of Kalihi, but recently it seems like it has reached a new level. In Honolulu, there are 6530 homeless individuals on any given day. This also includes 623 homeless families from SEAA, AAPI and Native Hawaiian communities. It is extremely saddening to see children, older adults, and families scattered on the streets of Kalihi. Compounded by the high rates of drug use, the homeless community is particularly vulnerable with inadequate support in many aspects including housing, social, and health. Without these supports, many older adults, children, and families will fall victim to burdens of homelessness – something that can already be observed in Kalihi.

    My meeting with Ed Case, U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 1st congressional district.

    Homelessness in my community has always been a motivation to improve access to healthcare and resources that are vital for older adults and their families. Through SEARAC’s LAT program, I had the opportunity to learn about the power of advocacy in helping me achieve this goal. Coming from a neighborhood of poverty in the “paradise” state of Hawaii, I have always felt that there was a lack of focus on my community and so being able to speak with Ed Case, my State representative on the issue of homelessness was very fulfilling.

    During my time at the LAT program, I was able to uplift my community’s story and advocate for health policies that can help resolve the burdens of homelessness. It was amazing to be a part of this transformative process where participants connected with each other and dissected their personal/community stories into policy solutions. I am so happy to be leaving with a support network of forty-seven leaders that were a part of the 2019 LAT cohort. Although my journey into advocacy has just begun, I am optimistic that my experience in SEARAC’s LAT program will help me reach my goals.

    Ocean (second from left) with some of the leaders he met in the LAT program

     

     

     

    The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Diverse Elders Coalition.

     

    Share Print this        Email Email this        Print Print this

    Recent Posts

    • How to Stay Safe When Going Back Out in Public
    • Centering Vaccination Planning on Equity: Intersecting Considerations of Age, Race, and More
    • Diversifying Research on COVID-19 and Aging-Related Issues: A Call for Asian American and Pacific Islander Older Adults and Caregivers to Participate in COMPASS and CARE

    Most Popular Posts

    • 35 quotes to help guide your life from famous African American older adults
    • Dion Wong: A conversation with a 69-year-old Chinese gay man (AAPI Heritage Month)
    • Chinese Seniors in New York: Where to Live
    • HIV/AIDS is Still an Issue for Older Gay Black Men
    • Growing Older Together: Queer People of Color and Aging

    Issues

    • All
    • Access to Services
    • Aging & Ageism
    • Caregiving
    • Chronic Illness
    • Civic Engagement
    • Cultural & Linguistic Competence
    • Data Collection / Research
    • Discrimination
    • Economic Security
    • Elder Abuse
    • Health & Wellness
    • Health Reform
    • HIV / AIDS
    • Housing
    • LGBTQ Communities
    • Medicaid / Medicare
    • National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA)
    • National Caucus and Center on Black Aging (NCBA)
    • National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA)
    • National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA)
    • Older Americans Act (OAA)
    • People of Color
    • Public Policy
    • Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
    • SAGE || Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders
    • Social Security / Retirement
    • Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
    • Transportation

    Tags

    #MakeHistory #PrideInPlace #TellACL 2020 AAPI AAPI Heritage Month AAPI Older Adults AARP Activism ADRD advocacy Affordable Care Act Africa African American African American Elders Ageism & Culture Aging Aging in America Conference AI/AN AI/AN Elders AI/ANs aid AIDS Alaska Native Alyssa Tulabut Alzheimer's Alzheimer's Disease American Indian American Indian & Alaska Native Elders American Indian Alaska Natives American Indian and Alaska Native Elders American Indian and Alaska Natives American Indians/Alaska Native Elders American Indians and Alaska Native Elders American Society on Aging Arab American Arab Americans Asian American and Pacific Islander Elders ballots barriers BIPOC Black Black History Month Black Lives Matter Black Veterans Black Veterans for Social Justice Blog Brazil care Caregiver Caregivers Caregiving Caregiving in a pandemic Caring Across Generations CDC CDSME Census Christmas Civic Engagement Clinical Trials Commemoration Commonwealth Fund communities communities of color community Community Catalyst Community Catalyst. Pandemic COMPASS Congresswoman Continuing Education Coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 Cases Cultural Competence Cultural Competency Culturally Competent Healthcare data Dawn Dearborn Dementia Dementias Department of Aging Direct Services Disability Discrimination diverse Diverse Elders Stories Initiative Dr. Marcy Adelman Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dual Eligibles Early Voting Earthquake Economic Security Education Egypt eldercare elders Election Election Day Election Reflections Employment/Workforce Issues End of Life enrollment Essential Workers event Events Executive Director exercise Families family Family Caregivers finances Financial Finding a Job Finding a Job LinkedIn Fitness Fitness and Exercise Food and Nutrition Functional Exercise funds Geriatrics Gerontological Society of America Gina Le Grandaughters Grandmother Grandparents Hassan Abbas Health Health & Wellness Healthcare health care Health Care Workers health coverage Health Disparities health equity Health Insurance health research Healthy Aging Healthy Eating Hispanic Elders Hispanic Heritage Month Hispanic older adults HIspanics HIV Holidays Home Exercises House Hunger Hurricane Hygiene Immigration / Refugees immunizations Indian Country Indigenous insurance Intergenerational Intergenerational trauma In The News Isolation Justice & Equity Justice in Aging Katrina Dizon Mariategue Kham Moua Khmer Kristine Ajrouch Language Access Languages Latinos LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Latinx lawsuit Leadership LGBT LGBT Caregivers LGBT Elders LGBT History Month LGBT Older Adults LGBTQ LinkedIn LinkedIn Profile Listening Session Living Lockdown Long Distance Caregivers mail-in vote Mayra Acevedo MCCFAD medicaid medicare Medicina Salud Publica Mental Health mental health care Metro Detroit money NAPCA National Council on Aging National Disability Employment Awareness Month National Indian Council on Aging National Minority Health Month National Work and Family Month Native American Heritage Month Native Americans needs assessment Neighborhood and Community New York New York City Next Avenue NHCOA NICOA Nonprofit NYC obstacles Oklahoma Older adults Older adults of color Older Americans Month open open enrollment Outdoors Paid Leave Pandemic People of Color People with Disabilities Personal Perspectives Philanthropy Physical Health Plan policy polling PPE Pride Month prizes Programs Public public health Puerto Rico queer Quyen Dinh raffles Reflection registration Related Dementias research Resiliency Risk Factors RRF safety SAGE SAGECents SAGEVets SEAA SEARAC Second Wave Self-Care seniors Services Shawnee Tribe Sina Sam Social Engagement Social Isolation Social Justice social worker South Asian Elders Southeast Asian American Southeast Asian American Caregivers Southeast Asian Elders support survey Technology telehealth telemedicine Thanksgiving The John A. Hartford Foundation trans Transgender Elders Two-spirit U.S. Treasury Department Unemployed United States University of Michigan University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine vaccinations vaccines Veterans vote voting Voting plan webinar Web Seminar Weight Gain Weight Loss White House Conference on Aging WHO Work & Purpose Workplace Workplace Issues Yvette Clarke
    • Who We Are
      • The Coalition
        • Who We Are
        • Our History
        • Our Team
        • Our Supporters
        • Employment Opportunities
        • Contact Us
      • Diverse Elders
        • AAPI Elders
        • Black Elders
        • AI/AN Elders
        • Hispanic Elders
        • LGBT Elders
    • What We Do
      • Current Campaigns
        • Civic Engagement
        • Family Caregiving
        • Health Reform
        • Public Education
      • Past Campaigns
        • State Advocacy: Georgia
        • State Advocacy: New Mexico
        • White House Conference on Aging
    • What to Know
      • Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
      • Data Collection and Disaggregation
      • HIV & Aging
      • Immigration Reform
      • Medicare & Medicaid
      • Older Americans Act
    • What You Can Do
      • Tell Your Story
      • Explore Our Stories
      • Share Our Blog Posts
    • Library
    • Blog

    Join Our Community

    © 2021 Diverse Elders Coalition. All Rights Reserved.  |   Terms of Use