Whether you are a consumer of long-term care, a family member, a friend, a professional advocate, or concerned citizen, your voice can help shape policies and practices that support residents. This page offers the tools to help you get started.
Advocacy Toolkit
Be an Advocate
People living in long-term care deserve dignity, respect, and meaningful quality of life. You can advocate to help make that a reality.
Advocate for Rights and Better Care
Tips for residents and family members to effectively advocate when needs are not being met.
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Craft an Effective Advocacy Message
Tips to create a concise, strong advocacy message for any audience.
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Meet with Policymakers
Communicating directly with your elected officials is an important way to make your voice heard.
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Write a Press Release
Get practical tips to help your organization craft effective and impactful press releases.
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Write a Letter to the Editor
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is a powerful way to raise public awareness about an issue that matters to your community.
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Utilize Social Media
Engage with social media to connect with others and make your voice heard.
LEARN MOREContact Your Policymakers
Tell Your Members of Congress to Improve Long-Term Care and Protect Long-Term Care Consumers
Members of Congress must make the safety and dignity of our long-term care consumers a priority. Use this opportunity to urge them to support laws and policies that protect consumers and increase access to high-quality long-term care supports and services (LTSS).
Call your Elected Officials
When you call your elected officials, you make your opinion known, and it is an opportunity for education on the topic.
Tips on calling representatives:
- Call during business hours to reach someone in their office. Call after hours if you prefer to leave a voicemail.
- Have a short message prepared in advance.
- Keep your talking points simple and focused.
- Mention your name and where you live so they know you are a constituent.
- Describe the issue you are calling about, and consider sharing a personal story about how the issue affects you. But remember, most calls are 2-3 minutes.
- Tell them the action you’d like them to take.
