Guest Blog by Idman Ibrahim, Advocacy Intern
My name is Idman Ibrahim, and I have spent this past spring with the Capitol Pathways Internship Program as part of the Advocacy Team at Twin Cities for Habitat for Humanity. When I started this internship, I was a Senior at Minnesota State University-Mankato, majoring in Social Work and Gender and Women's Studies. Having this opportunity with Twin Cities Habitat has given me the experience of learning more about housing affordability. This included learning about the process of funding decisions in the legislature, the importance of advocating in community settings, and the work organizations like Habitat do to create connections with their supporters throughout the community.
During my internship, it was amazing to have the opportunity to be in meetings with State Senators and Representatives. It allowed me to see how they support their community and how important it is to build relationships with our elected officials. I was happy to have been involved with Habitat Virtual Hill Day, where I was able to see Housing Heroes advocating their representatives for affordable homeownership in their communities.
Working with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Advocacy Team was important to me because I shared the experiences of many Habitat clients and communities the organization serves. While growing up, my family lived in public housing, where we were moved back and forth between different apartments. This led me to not having one place where I could say I grew up or stability. Working with Twin Cities Habitat provided me the opportunity to learn and prepare for what type of work I want to do and the type of organizational culture I’d like to work in. Now that my Capitol Pathways Internship and my senior year are both wrapping up, I'm preparing to attend graduate school for public policy.
Thank you to Idman Ibrahim for your excellent work as Twin Cities Habitat's Advocacy Intern! Stay up to date on how you can raise your voice for affordable housing by signing up for Advocacy Action Alerts.