Mobilize, organize, moving, shaking, etc
May 18, 2016 4:47 PM   Subscribe

I just found out my beloved program, Community HealthCorps, is de-funded. What can I and the rest of my cohort do to organize to get this program reinstated?

Community HealthCorps is funded by NACHC (National Association of Community Health Clinics) through a grant from the Cooperation for National and Community Service (CNCS). It's been an incredibly successful program for the last 20 years but in the past couple of years, a number of laws and amendments have tightened up on allowed activities, particularly around abortion. A few members in New York were supposedly providing doula services which violates the NACHC regulations (despite the fact that they were not actually providing the service and uh, abortion is legal, BUT I DIGRESS).

I am in San Francisco, and everyone in my cohort is livid. We are all highly motivated, passionate people and can throw time and energy behind this. Having said that, none of us have much experience raging against the national government's budget (hence why I'm asking random strangers on the internet).

What are some high-yield things that we can do on a relatively small scale? Social media? Writing to newspapers? Does anyone have experience with successfully doing something like this?
posted by allymusiqua to Law & Government (2 answers total)
 
Lobby with your congressmen and senators? And by lobby, I mean hang out at their offices and buttonhole them in person.
posted by DrGail at 5:10 PM on May 18, 2016


And better yet, put together an action alert to get people to contact their national elected officials (as well as the coordinators of NACHC and CNCS). This is what most activism-oriented international orgs do: put together a BRIEF and VERY SIMPLE summary, without snark; include the text of a proposed email/phone call to a Congressperson ("I just learned of the shocking defunding of Community HealthCorps' successful programs, and would like to know what you will do do reverse this tragic misstep ..."); send out a nice email to members/interested parties/etc. that includes both. Bonus points if you can include names and contact information for the people you want people to contact (this is more difficult with Congressfolk, but might help if you have reason to think specific people might be worth using as a focal point for this information, the head of a relevant subcommittee, for example).

This is also why petition sites like Change.org exist.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 5:54 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


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