Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
02.01.17
It’s that time of year again, when we close our clinic doors for a day and trek with clients, partners and each other to Annapolis to champion the issues that affect our work and clients most.
But for Lobby Day 2017 (Thursday, February 23), we’re mixing things up a little bit and trying something new.
(Hint: Make sure you have your care team t-shirt clean and ready to go.)
That’s right. We’ll be organizing ourselves as care teams for a range of morning activities, culminating with a noontime rally on Lawyers’ Mall. Then we’ll fan out across the House and Senate buildings for an afternoon of hearings, testimony and lots of learning about different bills and the lawmakers who are for and against them.
The day offers an up-close glimpse into the legislative process and emphasizes our essential role in it as frontline advocates. And there’ll be a range of activities—something for everybody—to ensure a meaningful and engaging experience for all 300+ of our Health Care for the Homeless Lobby Day participants! By sporting our care team colors, we’ll drive home the message that we’re committed to providing our clients with integrated, whole-person health care. And we may just spark a little friendly staff competition in the process—say, when it comes to numbers of information packets delivered to lawmakers and fabulousness of signs on display at Lawyers’ Mall.
The beef: Our lobbying efforts
At the core of our day, of course, will be our lobbying efforts: strategically educating lawmakers about—and persuading them to support—those bills that matter most to our community and our work. We’re working now to zero in on the key bills we’ll be pushing on Lobby Day, and in coming days and weeks we’ll be building legislative agendas and strategies for our various teams.
Please stay tuned right here to the staff portal for updates, and expect to hear from members of the larger communications team (Anthony, Sydnee, Kate, Vanessa, Beza and Molly) in the days ahead as we recruit folks to help us plan and lead the day.
Day at a glance…
RSVP now!
Take a minute now to let us know you’re joining the fun by submitting your RSVP here—by end of day on Friday, February 10.
Stay tuned
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dig into more details and schedule info sessions and trainings to get our Health Care for the Homeless teams ready to go! Together, we’ll make our mark on Annapolis.
Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
The Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition (TRAC) has been the driving force in championing trans rights policy changes in Maryland. Due to stigma and structural discrimination, transgender people—particularly transgender people of color—experience high rates of homelessness. Following the implementation of the Trans Health Equity Act in January, we talked with TRAC leadership about their work and community.
Since starting in January 2022, REI Health Specialist Arie Hayre-Somuah, LMSW, MPH has worked with our clinical teams to identify health disparities and move us closer to health equity. This year, she is turning her focus to the topic of health literacy.
We are delighted to announce the promotion of Hanna Mast from Senior Communications Manager to Director of Communications. Get to know more about her work in the Q&A below!