Healthcare is a human right
Your story is the strategy
Lived experience is leadership
From every corner of Illinois
Fighting for healthcare action
No one should go without care
Healthcare is a human right
Your story is the strategy
Lived experience is leadership
From every corner of Illinois
Fighting for healthcare action
No one should go without care
Citizen Action / Illinois · Healthcare Action Institute
Your story
is the strategy.
A six-session, three-month leadership development program for people directly impacted by our broken healthcare system — building the skills to fight for high-quality care as a right for all.
Follow our work
Cohort members come from
Chicago
Rockford
Springfield
Carbondale
Quad Cities
Downstate IL
"Healthcare is a human right — and we intend to win it."
Human right
Fight for care
Lived experience
Statewide
Leadership
"The Healthcare Action Institute trains advocates to transform their personal healthcare stories into powerful tools for change."
Mission Statement
Because healthcare is a human right, and we intend to win it. The Healthcare Action Institute turns lived experience into lasting change — training cohort members from Chicago to Carbondale who have lived through healthcare system failures and are ready to lead the fight to fix it.
Who we train
Cohort members are advocates from every corner of Illinois who have lived through healthcare system failures and are ready to lead the fight to fix it.
01
Story as Strategy
Participants learn to turn their personal healthcare experiences into compelling advocacy narratives that move decision-makers to act.
02
Power & Systems
Understand how power operates in healthcare — who makes decisions, who holds influence, and how advocates can shift both.
03
Campaign Skills
Hands-on training in lobbying, media, digital organizing, and coalition-building — the practical tools for fighting and winning.
04
Statewide Network
Cohort members build lasting relationships with advocates across Illinois, from Chicago to Carbondale.
05
Action Projects
Each advocate designs and executes a real campaign action — putting skills to work on a healthcare issue in their own community.
06
Graduation & Beyond
Graduates join a growing alumni network and stay connected to Citizen Action's statewide healthcare campaigns.
From Rockford to Carbondale, from the suburbs to the city — cohort members are turning lived experience into leadership.
C
Advocate Name
Springfield
D
Advocate Name
Carbondale
E
Advocate Name
Quad Cities
O
Advocate Name
Galesburg
Q
Advocate Name
Murphysboro
R
Advocate Name
Belleville
"Healthcare is a human right."
Core belief — use everywhere
"Your story is the strategy."
Advocate / recruitment messaging
"From every corner of Illinois, fighting for healthcare action."
Statewide reach / community framing
"Lived experience is leadership."
Program identity / cohort framing
"No one should go without care. We're here to change that."
Outreach / call to action
