The Advocacy Institute, a program of PHMC subsidiary Health Promotion Council, empowers Philadelphia youth to make sustainable community changes through policy, community and media advocacy. Each program cohort runs for 12 weeks and provides participants an opportunity to implement an action project to address an issue that affects their community.
Two prominent projects of The Advocacy Institute include #RealTalkTobacco, which focuses on youth tobacco prevention, and The Pennsylvania Opioid Prevention Project, a multimedia opioid misuse prevention campaign that equips youth with education, knowledge and resources to make healthy choices. Both initiatives allow participants to learn the fundamentals of impacting health policy, advocacy in media, and community engagement and organization.
After participants complete the program, they are inducted into the AI Alumni Network. This network includes all cohorts and provides opportunities for individuals to expand their action plan project and reinvest their experience into future cohorts and ongoing campaigns. Participants can also plan and attend events, meetings and trips as part of the Alumni Network.
Learn more about The Advocacy Institute here.
