No Need to be Afraid

I have shared that my reaching out to the media and legislators has gotten me as far as the White House. But believe me, this is not normal for me and still something that is intimidating to me every time I talk to them. For both the media and legislators I initially reached out when I had reached the end of my rope and felt I had no other way to get answers. Since then I have learned more about how to use both as a resource.

Very quickly I will touch on the media. I will be honest that this is where I am least confident and it shows in the clips I have done. But I push that aside to raise awareness for causes that I believe are more important that the discomfort I feel in that moment. The other thing is that I have worked both here in Tennessee and previously in Wisconsin to develop relationships with a couple of news anchors whom I trust and can go to when I feel things are important enough to warrant news. Television is not the only media, though newspaper media is not as common these days you can still write press releases to them or letters to the editor.

What I would like to focus on is legislators. And the main point I would like to drive home is that they are people too - just like me and you. It is just that their job is more public. But you know who hires them and pays their salary? We do. Even if you did not vote for the person who holds the office, they still represent you. You may not agree with many, or any of their stances, but they represent you when they work and they have an obligation to hear you out.

Locally there are representatives from common councils, school boards, and city officials. These people may feel the least intimidating to reach out to and may be most accessible to you. These are people living and serving in your community. They have an obligation to their residents to work for them. In smaller cities they may still hold other jobs and do this with little or no pay in pockets of time and in larger cities it will be a full time job. Regardless, contacting your city hall or your cities website you could be able to find all officials who represent you at the local level.

Next there are your state representatives. State government is set up similarly to our federal government with two groups of legislators that may have different names. These state legislators represent different portions of the state and have different terms of office. They most likely have offices in your state capitol and the area they represent. These legislators are responsible for your state budget, and governing state statutes. The governor of your state oversees the state and has a staff of his/her own that is also accessible to each person in that state. The best way to reach your state representatives is to go to your state's website .....www.(either state name or abbreviation here).gov.

Federal legislators are from your state and represent you in Washington D.C. for governing at the federal level. We are each represented by two Senators and a State Representative - again, we hire them and we pay them. We may see them on local tv or on nation cable stations. We may read of them in national syndicated articles, but again they are people just like us. They are reachable and their work is to represent us in Washington D.C. Without hearing from us they cannot know specifics of what it is that we want to happen. Here is where you can find who represents you https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

I encourage each person reading this to find out who each of your legislators are if you do not know already. Then, write them a letter or email introducing yourself. I do this as my legislators change either by me moving or new legislators being voted in. I begin by literally just introducing me and my family - who we are, where we live, what we like to do. I then go on to talk about what is important to me. I end by thanking them for their service, as I know that being a public servant is hard work. My letters focus on rare diseases (speaking specifically about my sons and my dad), mental health and education. Some people I know include pictures to put a face with a name. Then as action items come up with an organization I work I share with them why that action is important to me and my family and why I want them to vote a certain way on it - and the impact that vote will have on us. I add my personal story at the beginning of a template email so it catches the attention of someone getting many similar emails.

I really hope my main point comes through. Your legislators represent you and need to hear your voice. They are reachable. It does not mean they will do what you want, but there is no hope in that happening if you do not reach out to let them know what that is. Please, take step one and introduce yourself. It gets easier and more comfortable the more you do it, I promise.