Advocate

Sound Generations advocates at every level of government and with coalitions for accessible, essential and inclusive services that support people through their life’s journey. All our advocacy efforts apply a racial equity lens, centering the voices and stories of BIPOC, immigrant, refugee, and low-income older adults.

Our Advocacy Goals

  • Elevate aging issues and policies to address them 
  • Secure sustainable funding for senior center operations, affordable housing, nutrition, transportation, geriatric mental health, and more. 
  • Support progressive revenue 

How We Advocate

City Advocacy

Sound Generations has been building relationships with city leaders and engaging in local advocacy for many years and securing landmark wins: one of many is the 2021 funding from the City of Seattle for the establishment of the East African Senior Center, which provides wraparound services at three locations across the City of Seattle.  

We engage with the city’s budgeting process, city council, and with the mayor’s office on aging policy and funding for senior centers on an ongoing basis. Sound Generations looks to actively expand advocacy efforts beyond Seattle and the City of Shoreline to other King County cities in 2026 and beyond.

County Advocacy

Sound Generations engages with county leadership and the budgeting process to ensure mental health supports for older adults are properly funded. In the first iteration of the King County Proposed Budget for 2026-27, we learned Mental Illness & Drug Dependency (MIDD) funding, which provides half the budget for the Geriatric Regional Assessment Team, had been removed. 

The Sound Generations Assistance Services team engaged in dedicated advocacy to retain funding for the Geriatric Regional Assessment Team (GRAT). We attended multiple County Council committee meetings, provided testimony, and met with individual Councilmembers. We also asked Sound Generations staff and external partners to write letters of support to the Council. Ultimately, our efforts proved successful: Councilmembers voted to retain MIDD funding for GRAT through 2026. 

State Advocacy

Critical to ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of older adults in Washington State is our engagement with the state legislature each year. In 2025, we joined with hundreds of advocates across the state to pass Rent Stabilization, a policy capping annual rent increases at 7%, making it possible for more older adults to age in place. 

Sound Generations is committed to a presence in Olympia each legislative session, hosting a Lobby Day when we meet with legislators to discuss issues impacting older adults and share our budget and legislative priorities. See what we are advocating for in 2026! 

With Coalitions

Sound Generations plays a key role both within and across coalitions working towards the common goal of thriving communities. As part of the Seattle Human Services Coalition, the power of our collective advocacy claimed an additional investment of $500,000 in ongoing funding in the 2025 city budget to support senior centers. Alongside the Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging (W4A), we advocate at the state level for budget priorities to fully fund critical senior nutrition services and cost-saving outreach programs like Washington Health Homes. 

Become an Advocacy Volunteer

What You’ll Do 

  • Join our annual Lobby Day in Olympia 
  • Be part of rallies and other public-facing advocacy events run by our coalition partners 
  • Give public comment on the city budget or proposed legislation 
  • Sign on to coalition letters for various advocacy asks, sign in Pro on coalition-supported bills 
  • Provide testimony (virtual or in-person) at state committee hearings on priority bills 
  • Write op-eds/LTEs on advocacy issues impacting older adults 

Learn more and sign up at https://soundgenerations.org/get-involved/advocate/advocacy-volunteer/

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