SWG 573 Module 3 Advocacy Project Reflection: Asking a Legislator to Protect Home-Delivered Meals Example

Reviewed by Sabrina Delacroix, PhD Arizona State University Updated October 2026

This SWG 573 Module 3 sample is the Advocacy Project reflection in Policies to Promote Healthy Aging, a course in ASU's Master of Social Work. Due in Module 3, the ASU SWG 573 project asks students to join a real advocacy effort on an aging issue and then write two pages on why the issue matters, why their participation counted and what they learned. The composite MSW student, interning at a senior center in Maricopa County, wrote to and then met with a state legislator's aide about funding for home-delivered meals. The reflection explains the stakes with national data, describes the experience honestly and draws three lessons about policy practice for social workers.

CourseSWG 573 Policies to Promote Healthy Aging
ModuleModule 3
Paper typeAdvocacy reflection paper
LengthAbout 470 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramMaster of Social Work
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for SWG 573 Module 3

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One Letter, Many Meals: Reflections on Advocating for Home-Delivered Meals

Student Name

Master of Social Work, Arizona State University

SWG 573: Policies to Promote Healthy Aging

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title links the student's single action to the program it was meant to protect.
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One Letter, Many Meals: Reflections on Advocating for Home-Delivered Meals

The Issue and Why It Matters

I chose home-delivered meals for older adults, funded in part by Title III of the Older Americans Act and by state and local dollars. At my internship, I saw the waiting list for meals grow while costs for food and drivers rose. For many clients, the daily delivery is also the only regular human contact. Nationally, about 28% of older adults living in the community lived alone in 2023, and the median income of women 65 and older was $24,630 in 2022, compared with $37,430 for men (Administration for Community Living, 2024). People who live alone on limited incomes are exactly those who cannot easily shop or cook when their health declines. Research supports the program's value: in a randomized pilot, older adults who received daily delivered meals reported greater improvement in loneliness than those who received frozen meals once a week (Thomas et al., 2016).

What this page is doingCombining a local observation with national figures and one study shows why the issue deserved advocacy.
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What I Did

Using the National Council on Aging's advocacy toolkit as a guide, I identified my state representative, confirmed that the appropriations committee would consider aging services funding and wrote a one-page letter. The letter described our waiting list in numbers, shared the story of one client (with her permission and a changed name) and asked the legislator to support maintaining state funding for meals. Two weeks later, I met with the legislator's aide for 15 minutes, brought a one-page fact sheet and left my contact information. My documentation includes the letter, the fact sheet and the aide's follow-up email.

The Significance of My Participation

I doubted that one letter would matter. The aide's response changed my view. She told me that the office receives few contacts about aging services and that specific local numbers are more useful than general appeals. Social workers see the effects of policy daily, which gives our accounts credibility that statistics alone lack. The NASW Code of Ethics directs social workers to engage in social and political action so that people have access to the resources they need (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). Advocacy is part of the job, not an extra.

What this page is doingLinking the experience to the profession's code turns a personal story into a statement about professional responsibility.
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What I Learned

First, preparation matters: knowing which committee handled the budget made my request concrete. Second, stories and data work together; the aide remembered the client story but asked for the waiting-list numbers to share. Third, advocacy is a relationship rather than a single act. I plan to send the office an update after the session, and I now see policy practice as something I can build into everyday social work.

Conclusion

Advocating for home-delivered meals connected course content on aging policy to the people I serve. One letter will not settle a budget, but it put our clients' needs in front of someone who votes on it.

References

Administration for Community Living. (2024). 2023 profile of older Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Thomas, K. S., Akobundu, U., & Dosa, D. (2016). More than a meal? A randomized control trial comparing the effects of home-delivered meals programs on participants' feelings of loneliness. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 71(6), 1049-1058. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbv111

What the SWG 573 Module 3 instructions ask for

The SWG 573 Advocacy Project, a 20-point assignment, closes Week 3, Module 3, on income policies. Select a cause or policy issue affecting older adults and take part in an advocacy effort at the federal, state or local level, such as speaking at a town hall, contacting a legislator, joining a rally or preparing a legislative packet, or another approved strategy. Submit documentation of your activity with a two-page reflection that discusses why the issue is important, the significance of your participation and what you learned. The National Council on Aging's advocacy toolkit can guide your planning, and specific details are posted under the Assignments tab in Canvas. Protect client privacy in anything you share.

How the SWG 573 Module 3 example is put together

The sample follows the three required parts in order and adds a short account of the action taken so the reflection has a concrete basis. The issue section joins an internship observation with national figures and a randomized trial. The action section names each step and lists the documentation submitted. The significance section reports a change in the student's view and ties it to the NASW Code of Ethics. The lessons section gives three specific takeaways and a plan to follow up. The account is a composite, and client details are changed, which models how to protect privacy in advocacy. Margin notes point out how evidence and the code of ethics give a short reflection weight.

SWG 573 Module 3 rubric: what earns full marks

Graders scoring the advocacy reflection look for a real advocacy activity with documentation, a clear explanation of why the issue matters to older adults, a thoughtful account of the student's participation and specific lessons learned. Reflections lose points when the activity is passive, such as only reading about an issue, when the importance of the issue is asserted without evidence, when the significance section is generic or when documentation is missing. Because the paper is short, every paragraph should do work. Linking the experience to social work values and to course content on aging policy usually strengthens the reflection. Documentation that shows the date, the audience and your specific request makes the activity easy to verify.

SWG 573 Module 3 help with common mistakes

Pick an issue you see in your field placement or community. Find out who decides on it and when. Use the advocacy toolkit to plan a specific request. Bring one local number and one story, with permission and changed names. Keep copies of everything you send or receive. Write the reflection soon after the activity. Stay within two pages by focusing on the three required parts. If you are unsure which action counts, the desk can help you choose one. Follow up with the office afterward. Note the date and the name of the office you contacted for your documentation.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

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SWG 573 Module 3 questions, answered

Where can I find a free SWG 573 Module 3 sample paper?

The full advocacy reflection on home-delivered meals is on this page.

What does the SWG 573 advocacy project require?

An advocacy action on an aging issue, documentation and a two-page reflection.

How long is the SWG 573 advocacy reflection?

Two pages.

Do home-delivered meals reduce loneliness?

In one randomized pilot, daily delivered meals improved self-rated loneliness more than weekly frozen meals.

What share of older adults live alone?

About 28% of community-dwelling adults 65 and older in 2023.