The Activist Consumer Advisory Board: Empowering Consumers to Advocate and Catalyze Social Change

This workshop discusses the unique role that CABs can play in catalyzing social change.  We incorporate a “how to approach” for CABs, providing our peers with tools to develop curriculums that enable consumers to cultivate advocacy skills.  We also highlight the work of “activist” CABs in Miami, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon in which consumers advocate on matters such as alternatives to homelessness criminalization, Medicaid expansion and health education.  Key content topics include navigating legal and institutional barriers to effective advocacy; tying health education to clinical quality indicators; and sensitizing the public to homelessness issues.