Is there an issue you’ve noticed that isn’t getting solved that impacts your Las Vegas community? Whether it’s providing legal guidelines for an Asian American and Pacific Islander community or getting funding to support resources to your Las Vegas community, it all starts with becoming an advocate in Las Vegas.
To start your advocacy journey, here are three phases you’ll have to go through to get an issue resolved for your Las Vegas AAPI community.
Phase 1: Organize
Once you figure out an issue or topic you are passionate about, it’s time to organize and collect all the information available on the Internet and in your Las Vegas AAPI community. This phase is the most important as it will help build the groundwork for the next two phases.
Start Your Research
Here are some important questions as a guideline to consider when collecting information.
- Are there any studies conducted to show how much of an impact it has towards your Las Vegas community (i.e. 20% of Las Vegas AAPI community have this issue)?
- Is there any economic value towards fixing the issue (i.e. if this issue is solved, this would save the Las Vegas legislature $X due to having the issue resolved.)?
- Are there any current testimonials on social media or anyone you know that have experienced this issue while living in the Las Vegas AAPI community?
- Are there any current solutions that’s being implemented by other Las Vegas communities that have worked?
Be sure to collect everything you need in a central place as this will be the groundwork for learning how to communicate the issue and the solution.
Create an outline
Once you have collected all the information that’s available about the issue. It’s time to create a one page document that answers the following:
- What is the issue?
- Which Las Vegas community does the issue impact and how large of an impact is the issue?
- What is the solution?
- How much would it cost to implement the solution and what is the value of getting the solution implemented (i.e. if someone implements the solution would this help save or improve a specific community?)
As you create your outline, make sure to start with 1-2 sentences that summarizes the issue and how to solve the problem. See example below of the outline structure.
- Summary of your issue and the solution
- Explanation of the Issue
- How the issue impacts the community
- Explanation of the Solution
- Impact of the Solution
- Your Contact Information
Create your Advocacy Pitch
Once your outline is complete, write out a 30 second pitch. Similar to a business “elevator pitch”, the goal of the advocacy pitch is being able to explain the issue, how to solve the issue, and how someone can help. This will be helpful when talking to various individuals about your issue you’re advocating for a resolution.
Phase 2: Connect
This next step is to find allies in the Las Vegas community who can help support fixing the issue that you’re passionate about. It’s important to find the following people:
- Individuals living in your community (Las Vegas) – People in the community who are impacted by the issue and can share their experiences.
- Experts on the Issue – People that have solved this issue in other communities and can provide guidance or other organizations that have experience in providing solutions to the issue.
- Your elected representatives – County, State, or Federal representatives in Nevada that can help pass a resolution to fix the issue.
The big requirement in this phase is finding someone who can pass or vote on a resolution to fix the issue. If you’re unsure who to reach out to, start by talking to a local government official that serves your community as well as elected officials representing your Nevada community. In most cases, their office will help find the right person for you to talk to.
Elected officials will play a big part in helping pass a bill or resolution as they are looking for ways to help support the Nevada community.
During this phase, it’s important to give yourself a timeline of when you have found enough allies that support the issue you’re advocating and can help support your advocacy.
Phase 3: Act
The final step is working with your allies in the Las Vegas community on what can be done to implement a solution to the issue. This phase could take the longest as you will need to make sure you are supporting people who can implement a solution to your issue.
Start your Advocacy Journey by Become an OCA Member
Are you ready to become an advocate? Start becoming an OCA member by purchasing your membership. Annual membership pricing starts as low as $10/year.
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