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Our goal is to ensure your representatives understand the significant impact of your work for immigrant communities, women and sexual/gender diverse individuals.
Before embarking on this journey as The Bridge Sisters (TBS), we spent over a decade working with nonprofit organizations and feminist collectives in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Latin America. As advocates wearing many hats in small nonprofits, we had the opportunity to support and accompany hundreds of immigrant victims of gender-based violence. Most of the people we worked with were fleeing from an abusive or life-threatening situation or relationship.
They were also in the process of settling in a new country, seeking immigration status, and trying to reunite with their families, all while navigating a new system in a foreign language.
While we celebrated many success stories, we also witnessed many individuals and their families slip through the cracks of the systems they were navigating. We realized that with limited resources, all the great efforts of advocates and the nonprofit community were not enough to help everyone. Without strong social policies and support systems, our ability to help is limited, leading to burnout and discouragement among those committed to this essential work.
These experiences inspired us to find ways to influence policy making by helping nonprofits to bring powerful stories to the hearts of the community, the public, and those with the power to make policy decisions. We know this is extremely important because legislators often create laws and regulations that impact the lives of the most vulnerable, yet they remain distant from their stories and struggles. Although small nonprofits serving marginalized communities achieve remarkable results on limited budgets, their leaders, workers, teachers, case managers, and constituents often struggle to communicate their communities' needs to elected officials. Consequently, these needs may be overlooked when policies and budgets that directly affect them are designed and implemented.
We realized that with limited resources, all the great efforts of advocates and the nonprofit community were not enough to help everyone.Without strong social policies and support systems, our ability to help is limited, leading to burnout and discouragement among those committed to this essential work.
This is why policy advocacy became a crucial component of the work we do, particularly in the United States. Bringing these stories to representatives can make a significant difference. A well-crafted story that captures the core of the experience and its impact on the community is key to influencing policy making effectively. We understand the communities you work with, which allows us to craft stories that are respectful, dignifying, and powerful, honoring the experiences of those who lived them.
We understand that engaging with legislators is often an intimidating experience for non-English speaking im/migrant communities. Many nonprofit and community leaders don't know where to start or how to navigate the policy making process. Therefore, we help them with comprehensive policy advocacy training and support. As TBS, we have supported organizations in building capacity to develop policy advocacy programs, particularly for those serving Spanish-speaking individuals and new im/migrants. Throughout our career in the nonprofit sector, we've proudly supported advocacy efforts at local, state, and federal levels on issues such as early childhood education, reproductive health, migration, domestic violence, and comprehensive access to healthcare. Moreover, our combined experience includes conducting research and tracking legislative initiatives, representing clients in advocacy coalitions, building relationships with elected officials, training staff and constituents to become active advocates, and identifying opportunities to address community concerns.
Throughout our career in the nonprofit sector, we've proudly supported advocacy efforts at local, state, and federal levels on issues such as early childhood education, reproductive health, migration, domestic violence, and comprehensive access to healthcare.
Our goal is to ensure your representatives understand the significant impact of your work for immigrant communities, women and sexual/gender diverse individuals. Your voice deserves to be heard, regardless of the language you speak, and we help you accomplish just that. Join us in amplifying your impact and making a difference through policy advocacy.
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