REAAL: Relationships, Education, Advocacy, Access, Leadership
The REAAL Committee recognizes the importance of being in partnership with community members and values those who are passionate about voicing their opinion. In order to remove local barriers and keep people out of poverty, REAAL members provide expertise and insights from their experiences. Our members help us understand and identify barriers to create systemic change at the local, state, and national level. Through this dialogue, REAAL will work on increasing and shaping NH’s advocacy efforts to help ensure we effectively meet the needs of the people we serve and their families.
The minimum age requirement to be a REAAL member is 14 years old.
REAAL Members are asked to:
- Attend monthly one hour meetings
- Attend a minimum of 8 meetings annually
- Actively voice your opinions and share your experiences with the group
- Help us make sure no one is left out or misinterpreted
- Strengthen Neighborhood House’s work to eliminate racism and keep people out of poverty
Members receive:
- A monthly stipend in the form of a gift card of $45 for each meeting in attendance (optional)
- Training on advocacy and other topics of interest to the group
- Opportunity to learn about issues in your community and use your leadership skills
- Opportunity and support to attend a lobby day, provide testimony, or other advocacy opportunities
Available as needed:
- Interpretation
- Assistance completing REAAL application
- Childcare and/or travel reimbursement
- Tablet or another device
The pillars of the REAAL Committee include:
- Relationships: Build and sustain positive relationships with community partners and community members.
- Education: Learn from immigrants, refugees and other marginalized communities. Build empathy and educate community members and policy makers about the systems that perpetuate inequity and solutions to eradicate poverty.
- Advocacy: Influence policy, especially locally, that removes barriers, provides pathways out of poverty, and dismantles racist systems.
- Access: Ensuring systems (education, employers, and government benefits) are accessible and responsive to people experiencing language, cultural and systemic barriers.
- Leadership: Support and empower people experiencing poverty and racism by connecting them to decision-makers. Help them become engaged community members, leaders or policy-makers.