A Tucson nonpartisan group wants to help residents find their voice on the issues they care about, starting with a free workshop on writing and advocacy Monday.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson is holding a "Writing for Impact" workshop June 15 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Nanini Library, 7300 N. Ina Rd. It will be the fourth time the league has hosted the event, with previous sessions held at the Pima Council on Aging, a local Lutheran church and Pima Community College.

The workshop is free and open to the public and will cover writing letters to the editor, contacting elected officials and navigating social media advocacy. Attendees should bring a pen and paper or laptop.

The workshop is both collaborative and nonpartisan and is aimed at giving people tools to advocate for the issues they care about, said Shelley Erickson, a member of the league's communication committee and event co-coordinator.

Many people care deeply about local issues but aren't sure where to start or whether speaking up will make a difference, Erickson said.

"I hear that a lot, 'Why would I bother? They're not going to listen anyway,'" Erickson said.

The workshop aims to address those doubts and build confidence in communicating with elected officials.

"Sometimes you're speaking to a staff person of an elected official who's often very knowledgeable, and if they don't agree with you, then you're going to get pushback and that's intimidating," said co-coordinator Fran McNeely.

McNeely said the workshop prepares attendees to communicate with elected officials at all levels, from school board members to members of Congress.

The interactive format also gives attendees a chance to develop their own drafts, Erickson said.

"We'll talk about a letter to the editor, what that looks like, where they might be able to brainstorm about areas where they can submit them. We give them feedback and help them draft something that's going to work well for them," Erickson said. "We really want to hear from them, their experiences, and they can talk to one another."

While the league takes no position on the issues attendees bring, Erickson said they will help workshop any draft.

"We don't engage with it as league members, but people seem to come out of it feeling pretty positive about their ability to engage," she said. "It's not the only way to effect change, but it's certainly one way to do it. It's a stepping stone to other things."

McNeely said holding the workshop at a public library this summer should draw a broader and potentially younger audience than previous venues.

More than half the attendees at the Pima Community College session were in their 20s and registered to vote, and McNeely said she hopes to see a similar turnout Monday.

"The League of Women Voters is interested in voter education and just voting in general, so we definitely want to reach young people with these workshops," McNeely said.

Any venue or organization interested in hosting the workshop can reach out at writerscorps@lwvtucson.com. Erickson said the league will work with any group, with the goal of growing community involvement and voter education.

"It's really important for people to be engaged in their community," she said. "We're hoping that people just become engaged in whatever their community might be, feel a little bit more confident, and a little bit more prepared to do that."

Elias Bonilla is a journalism and political science major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at ebonilla1500@gmail.com.

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