We are pleased to introduce our newest Child Welfare and Education Policy Associate, Bianca Miles.

Don’t Forget Your Voice

(January 9, 2026) As I reflect on my journey leading me to Michigan’s Children, the role of advocacy, lived experiences, and uplifting voices is what remains constant. I’ve seen how one voice can build an unbreakable force and how we can continue to amplify our communities through our voice. In 2025 alone, we have seen systems that many have relied on shifted or removed without a thought to how it will impact people. This has left many of us frustrated, angry, in despair, and hopeless. From the federal dismantling of the Department of Education, cuts to Medicaid funding along with changes to eligibility requirements, and of course, the uncertainty of SNAP benefits that provide food for 23% of our kids (that’s 527,620 kids), I stand with you in these feelings. This year has been challenging for most and resulted in worries for the future of our children. Luckily, there’s hope through our voice and advocacy.

Advocacy is a buzz word when it comes to creating change but not many understand where to start or what it looks like. My advocacy journey is far from linear and for a large part of my journey I didn’t even realize I was advocating. As a child, I was often the one to notice when something was off, taking leadership opportunities to carry out a mission I believed in. I always rose to the occasion when needed. It wasn’t until I became a youth advocate at the age of 15 that I learned how my soapbox moments were forms of basic advocacy.

I also learned that I wasn’t alone in my lived experiences. Stigma, socio-economic factors, and generational trauma had impacted how my parents raised me and those things affected my childhood. As a youth advocate, I learned that being open to vulnerability and allowing my story to help others gave me a gateway that made me realize my voice matters! Through this role I found a love for social work and began to figure out how I can be the best advocate for children who may have grown up in similar circumstances.

In my senior year of college, I found myself again stuck, not sure what was next on my career path. Social work is a broad career field, but training & education mostly focuses on micro work (working with individuals using therapy and other techniques). By my final year, I knew micro was not my next step. I was a strong leader on campus and wanted to continue to hold leadership roles in social work. I wanted to help populations, not just individuals; I wanted to change systems.

Through research, I found Wayne State’s master’s of social work program with a focus in community organizing, leadership & policy (now Community Engagement and Social Action) that aligned with my future career goals. During my graduate studies, I struggled to identify an internship. I remember telling my field advisor, “I just want to further grasp the concept of advocacy.” After that, my advisor told me about Transportation Riders’ United (TRU), a metro Detroit regional transit advocacy group. There, I learned all about both “boots on the ground” and political advocacy. Calling state legislators to ask about their transportation priorities, interviewing bus riders at local bus stops, and protesting alongside bus drivers for more money were all forms of advocacy that gave me more insight on how it affects policy!

Although we didn’t create enough buzz to get more funding for transit, the following election cycle, transit did receive an increase in the state budget! This experience showed me that you may not always win the first go round, but if you continue to push, you can create the change you want to see.

In the current climate of our society, your voice matters more than ever and now is the time for all of us to use our voices. 2026 is a critical election year for our state. As I shared in my journey, you may not realize that what you are doing now is advocacy. Sharing resources to a loved one in need, speaking up at your child’s school, or participating at local or state rallies are a few ways to engage in basic advocacy. You can challenge yourself by writing letters or calling your legislators to inform them of your concerns. Attend a local townhall regarding an important issue. Your voice allows you to be seen, heard, and understood. As we continue to amplify policies that impact our kids, it’s important that we continue to uplift those who actually lived through the circumstances that we want to fix. You can take the following actions to help identify where you can use your voice:

  • Know who represents you and what policies they are backing. In 2026, Michigan will have an important election cycle where the Governor, House, Senate and other positions will be up for election. All candidates will have a public website or opportunities to get to know their priorities for your zip code and the state.
    • Make sure you vote this November! If your candidate is not elected, get to know who was – their voice will represent you! Call or meet with them and tell them about issues that keep you up at night and what you’d like to see them do! Find your legislators here:
  • Join advocacy groups, coalitions or action groups that relate to issues you care about. Many local and statewide groups are looking for people like you, with lived experience, to help push their advocacy forward!
  • Sign up for newsletters from organizations that can keep you in the loop and help connect you to actions you can take on things that matter to you.
    • Subscribe to Michigan’s Children newsletter for news and bulletins around all things kids and youth!
      One small step can begin the journey of a thousand miles. Our future depends on raising our voices; people are the foundation of our democracy. As you consider your next step in advocacy, know that it is easier than you think. You may enter as a fly on the wall – just waiting for your buzz to be heard – or you may turn out to be the natural leader a group is looking for. Either way, there’s an advocate in you and I (and many others) look forward to walking with you into 2026 ready – to amplify our voices, together.