Rise is a national nonprofit organization. Rise began in 2014 when the founder Amanda Nguyen decided to rewrite the law for survivors by working to pass the U.S. Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights.
Rise since has grown and now helps everyday people pass their own laws to help their communities. This program is known as Rise Justice Labs.
Caitlin Ryan, a member of Rise, explained that the Rise Justice Labs accelerator’s goal is to help everyday people pass their first law. The team at Rise has compressed several years’ worth of learning and personal experiences into a three-month accelerator program to teach you all you need to know to pass your own law.
Below are some benefits of being a part of the program that Caitlin shared:
- You will learn how to draft your own bill and how to share your story for change with the help and support from members of Rise. The members have had past experience passing their own laws.
- Having the opportunity to meet with legislators who may support your campaign.
- Receiving help on launching your campaign. Some of the coaching and tips you will receive are from team leaders from the Women’s March, March for Our Lives, Stop Asian Hate, and the #MeToo movement.
- The opportunity to practice and receive guidance on how to pitch your story. This will help you gain more support on your campaign. And so much more!
You have to apply to join the Rise Justice Labs program. If you want to be a part of the winter cohort, you need to complete your application by September 19, 2022.
The team will go through all applications. The candidates they pick will then move on to the interview process. Once the interview process is complete, the winners will be announced and you will begin the program shortly after. You can find more information, requirements, and the application for the program at Risenow.us.
The Rise Justice Labs movement is made up of 14 teams and is working in 21 states currently. In 2022 so far six bills have been introduced, five bills have passed out of committee, two bills have passed through both chambers, and two bills have been signed into law. To date, four Rise Justice Labs teams have helped pass eight laws.
The process of passing a law usually takes longer than the 12-week program. Even after the program is complete, the members of Rise will continue to support their Rise Justice Labs alumni communities as they work to secure bill sponsorship and continue to implement campaigns to pass their bills.
Rise Justice Labs is currently working toward passing the following bills. You can check them out, show your support, and gain some ideas on the process of what it takes to pass your own law.
- Chloe Flower (New York, NY): Chloe Flower is focused on ensuring music education is a part of the core curriculum in all U.S. schools. She believes it should be treated not as an elective, but a crucial part of development. You can follow Chole’s federal campaign, Music is a Human Right here and sign her petition on change here.
- Heba Mohiuddin (Dallas, Texas): Heba’s federal campaign is to ensure equitable access to imperative medication, specifically PrEP medication. Her goal is passing legislation that bars medication access discrimination. Follow Heba’s Campaign here.
- Jesse Johnson (Otis Orchards, Washington): Jesse wants to improve the United States’ agriculture system by passing legislation in Washington state designed to make it more sustainable, resilient, and widespread. Follow Jesse’s campaign here and sign his petition to help reach his goal.
- Lily Joy Winder (Albuquerque, New Mexico) and Sofia Ongele (Santa Clarita, California): The People, Not Mascots team wants to pass federal legislation banning the usage of Native mascots without specific tribal consent. You can follow People Not Mascots here and sign their petition here.
- Sydney Griffith (Los Angeles, California): Sydney is fighting to pass federal legislation that would require colleges and universities to publish statistics on sexual assaults occurring off campus. This would specifically target assaults that were reported to the college or university and involved both a perpetrator and victim who are students at the school. Follow Sydney’s campaign, Cantua here and you can help her by signing her petition.
You can get more information, plus hear their stories and details on why they chose to fight for these topics by checking out Rise’s Demo(cracy) video here.
Demo(cracy) day is presented at the end of the 12-week program. This allows them to have the opportunity to announce their campaign to the world and to seek support from people who can help. These include legislators who may become potential sponsors, press who can share their story, funders to help support the campaigns, and volunteers and supporters like you and me!
If you have an idea for a law and need help, apply today to join the Rise Justice Labs program.
Photo by Josh Barwick on Unsplash
