Powering Advocacy advances equity by connecting lived experience to policy, research, and civic systems. This work ensures communities impacted by autoimmune and chronic illness are represented in decisions that shape access, inclusion, and prevention.

Powering Advocacy translates community insight into action by aligning storytelling, research, advocacy, and civic participation. This work strengthens accountability and builds pathways for long-term systems change across healthcare and public institutions.

Advancing Equity Through Policy, Data, and Civic Engagement

NATIONAL EFFORT FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE

Powering Advocacy builds momentum by turning lived experience into tools, data, advocacy efforts, and civic engagement. This work supports representation, participation, and influence across systems that shape health outcomes.

It does this in three key ways:

How Powering Advocacy Creates Lasting Impact

Powering Advocacy centers patient and community voices through storytelling and shared insight that inform advocacy efforts, research priorities, and policy conversations.

Amplifying Lived Experience and Community Storytelling

This work includes advocacy toolkits, education resources, and data-driven products that help identify barriers to care and systems change opportunities.

Developing Tools and Data for Action

Powering Advocacy supports partnerships, legislative engagement, and civic participation, that elevate community voice and strengthen democratic access. 

Advancing Policy, Legislative, and Civic Engagement

Vot-ER Civic Health Initiative

Civic participation influences the policies that shape healthcare access, research funding, and public health programs. Through our Vot-ER partnership, you can check your voter registration, register to vote, and learn how civic engagement supports healthier communities.

Access resources to help raise awareness about autoimmune disease in your community during Autoimmune Awareness Month, including educational materials and ways to engage others

As an official NOWINCLUDED partner, The AIP BIPOC Network helps connect communities to research opportunities that improve understanding of autoimmune and chronic illness. 

Project EVE is a research initiative working to improve understanding of autoimmune disease. Participation helps strengthen research and ensure broader community representation.

Autoimmune awareness toolkit

Project EVE Research Study

NOWINCLUDED Research Community

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Explore ways to take action through civic engagement, storytelling, research participation, and community awareness.

Get Involved in Autoimmune and
Chronic Illness Advocacy

Access Civic Health ToolsAccess the ToolkitLearn About the StudyGet Involved in Research

Personal stories help illuminate the real impact of autoimmune disease. Share your experience to strengthen awareness, advocacy, and understanding of life with chronic illness.

Share Your Autoimmune Story

Share Your Story

From Medical Neglect to EmPOWERed Advocacy: The Nadine Kidd Story

Our Autoimmune Stories Nadine Kidd (1)

Our Autoimmune Stories

Personal stories from individuals living with autoimmune disease and chronic illness, highlighting the realities behind advocacy, research, and care while sharing the challenges, resilience, and lessons of the journey.

Civic engagement and voter registration efforts supported to expand community participation.

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Advocacy tools and resources developed or refreshed to support education, documentation, and systems engagement.

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Program Impact Statistics

Powering Advocacy 

Powering Advocacy focuses on building capacity, representation, and systems engagement for communities impacted by autoimmune and chronic illness.

Advocacy and legislative engagements supported at the state and national level, including systems navigation partnerships.

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Community stories collected and elevated to inform advocacy, research, and systems decision-making.

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Powering Advocacy centers lived experience in efforts to improve healthcare systems and policies affecting people with autoimmune disease and chronic illness. The program connects patient stories, community data, and civic participation to advocacy, research, and policy conversations.

By bringing the perspectives of people most impacted into spaces where decisions are made, Powering Advocacy helps surface gaps in care, highlight barriers to access, and support solutions that reflect real community needs.

What makes Powering Advocacy unique among advocacy programs?

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Powering Advocacy focuses on health equity advocacy related to access, diagnosis, care coordination, and prevention for people living with autoimmune disease and chronic illness.

Advocacy efforts include:
  • legislative and policy engagement
  • coalition advocacy with partner organizations
  • systems navigation partnerships
  • research collaboration
  • nonpartisan civic participation

These efforts help ensure community voices and lived experience inform healthcare policy, research priorities, and systems-level change.

What kinds of advocacy does Powering Advocacy focus on?

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Yes. Powering Advocacy engages with policymakers, institutions, and advocacy organizations at the state and national level. The program contributes community insight, lived experience, and advocacy perspectives to conversations about healthcare policy, research priorities, and systems-level change.

Through partnerships and collaborative advocacy efforts, Powering Advocacy helps ensure that the experiences of people living with autoimmune disease and chronic illness are represented in discussions that shape health policy and care systems.

Does Powering Advocacy engage with policymakers and health institutions?

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Patient stories are collected and elevated to ensure lived experience informs advocacy efforts, research priorities, and systems decision-making. These stories help surface gaps in care, highlight barriers to access, and bring real community perspectives into conversations that shape healthcare policy, research, and support services.

How does Powering Advocacy use patient stories to drive advocacy and change?

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Powering Advocacy uses technology and data tools to translate lived experience and community insight into actionable resources that support advocacy and decision-making.

This includes tools such as advocacy toolkits and the Autoimmune CivicScore GPT, which help transform community experiences, research insights, and policy information into accessible resources that individuals, advocates, and organizations can use to engage systems, inform policy discussions, and advance health equity.

How does Powering Advocacy use technology and data to support advocacy?

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No. Powering Advocacy supports nonpartisan civic engagement, which includes voter registration education, civic participation resources, and policy awareness. The program focuses on helping communities understand how public policy and civic engagement influence health access, healthcare systems, and research equity.

By encouraging informed participation in civic processes, Powering Advocacy helps strengthen community voices in decisions that affect healthcare access, public health programs, and health equity.

Does Powering Advocacy include voter registration activities?

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Anything else you’d like to learn more about? Get in touch with our team and we’d be happy to answer your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

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