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Calling Your State Legislator's Office

It is likely that when you call the legislator's Columbus office, you will speak to the legislator's legislative aide or administrative assistant. Remember – Always be courteous to the staff members. A legislator's staff is the entry point to direct communication with your senator or representative. They can help you or hurt you so show them the same personal and professional respect you would demand of others.

When calling your legislator's office, ask for the names of the staff and develop a relationship with them. Because legislators are so busy attending committee hearings and general sessions, the staff will often take care of your inquiries. In addition, developing a positive personal and professional relationship with the legislator's staff can vault your phone messages to the top of a large pile, your requests may be addressed in a more timely fashion and your phone call may be the first to be directly referred to the legislator if he/she is available. Remember - It is always more pleasant for you to deal with others who are friendly. Legislators and staff have that same attitude.

If you do not know your legislator before your first contact to discuss legislative issues, remember these communication tips:

• Identify yourself and let the legislator or staff know you are from the legislator's district
• Clearly identify yourself as being a member of NAMI and tell the legislator a little about what your NAMI affiliate does in your community
• Be up front about the legislative issue that you are calling about – state the issue and your position
• If you are not familiar with the legislative process, don't be afraid to admit it. Legislators are not familiar with how your affiliate operates. That makes you even, so tell the legislator that you are representing NAMI and would like to provide important information that will help him/her understand the issue
• Ask the legislator if there is an opportunity to meet with other NAMI members in your community the next time they are in the district and offer to set up a meeting
• Always leave a phone number where the legislator can return your call

The hardest part of getting to know and establishing a relationship with a legislator is the initial phone call or meeting. Once you can put the legislator at ease and convince him/her that you are there to educate and inform, a relationship will easily develop.

Don't be offended if the legislator does not return your call immediately. With all the activities going on at the statehouse, legislators often cannot get to constituent requests until late in the day. Don't be surprised to receive a phone call from the legislator at home in the evening. Even if the legislator does not return your call within a few days, be patient (unless the bill is coming to a vote quickly.) Place another call to the legislator's office and remind staff that you recently called and would like an opportunity to discuss an important issue. You should take this opportunity to state your position to the staff so that if the legislator is required to vote this bill before talking to you, at least your message will be on record. Gentle repetition in contacting a legislator is important. Be persistent.

Once you make contact with the legislator, clearly explain your issue and how the issue affects you, your family, your community and the legislator's constituents. Putting a broad issue in a local perspective so the legislator can learn how the people who vote are affected is a very useful communication tool.

Invite the legislator to your affiliate's next meeting so he/she can see and hear first hand testimony from constituents in the district that are experts on this issue. Once of the best communication and education tools is placing the legislator in your affiliate's meeting environment so he/she can view your day-to-day issues and hear how the families in your community are affected. Use this opportunity to introduce the legislator to the key volunteers of your affiliate. Now your legislator has a better feel for NAMI, its members and its issues.

Once you establish a relationship with your legislator, volunteer your time to help him/her on a project or campaign activity. NAMI volunteers have many significant demands on their time, but one of the best ways to get to know a legislator is by volunteering your time to help them get re-elected. Volunteer to pass out campaign literature, hold a local fundraiser, operate a phone bank or put a sign in your yard. At a local fundraiser, the amount of money you raise for the legislator is not the focal point of the event. Invite twenty of your neighbors and friends and ask them to donate $25 per person to attend a tea with the legislator. Make sure you have members of your NAMI affiliate in attendance to help deliver the message about how NAMI has helped their families. Your legislator will recognize your efforts and your relationship will grow.

Don't just contact your legislator when you need something from him/her. Isn't it annoying when the only time you hear from a friend or relative is when they need something? Legislators feel the same way. Part of any successful effort is to establish a relationship with a legislator means picking up the phone just to inform him/her of a community event or give them an update on a program your affiliate is providing. It doesn't always have to be about needing something.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. In real estate, the old adage is "location, location, location." In building a successful grassroots advocacy program, repetition is the key. Organize local members to send letters and make phone calls to your legislator. Volumes of letters and calls can escalate an issue that may not be at the top of your legislator's agenda. If you can demonstrate that an issue is important to many voters, then it will also be important to your legislator. Your grassroots program is successful when you can make your priorities a legislator's priorities.

The ultimate goal of building a relationship with your legislator is having the legislator call you to ask your opinion on a piece of legislation that involves NAMI. Good legislators establish "information banks" of constituents in their districts upon which they rely for education and information. The goal of NAMI's grassroots program is to become the "voice on mental illness" in your community and to have a legislator that acknowledges that.

Personalize all letters to a legislator. Legislators tend to pay attention and respond to constituent letters that are personalized. Legislators receive a large volume of mail, some of which are form letters containing a standard message with individual signatures. These form letters simply do not have the same effectiveness as those from constituents who are willing to share their own stories. Correspondence that conveys a personal message to a legislator is very effective because it enables a legislator to take someone else's personal experience and use it in his or her job as constituent advocate in the Ohio General Assembly.

Above all else, don't be afraid of your legislator. Legislators can be intimidating because of their importance in our government, but the bottom line is that they need easy access to the people they serve. They represent us and need to hear from us and, in fact, rely on us to ensure that they are doing their job as our spokesperson in Columbus.

Checklist for Telephone Calls and Emails

Lobbying by telephone can be effective if the issue you want to be heard on is moving too fast for any other type of communication. Sometimes it happens that very important amendments get attached to bills that you have no interest in and there is no warning that an amendment you oppose might get introduced at that time. In this case, phone calls and e-mails are all you have to communicate your feelings on the proposal.

Phone calls should be made with the understanding that you must communicate your position in as little time as possible. Most legislators' offices keep a running tally on hot issues and sheer numbers do count. When calling a legislator in these situations, be prepared to simply state that you are very concerned about the pending action and would strongly urge the member to vote accordingly. In these cases, staff merely records a call in support of opposition of the issue and the legislator uses these numbers to gauge voter preference.

E-mails can be effective in these rush-to-action votes. However, not all legislators have or use their e-mail accounts. Where these e-mail addresses are available, they should be used the same way – only when there is no time for a hand-written letter. These e-mail messages should also be brief and to the point. Most legislators discount an e-mail because it is so easy to forward and copy and doesn't carry the weight of a well-thought out letter.

Effective Telephoning Techniques

Phone calls are an easy way to let legislators know what you think. The effectiveness of phone calls varies from legislator to legislator. In general, they are not as effective as letters, but are important when time is a major factor. A phone call is much better than nothing at all.

The following are some pointers for making phone calls to legislators:

• Clearly state your name and where you live so the legislator's staff member knows that you are from the district.
• Be prepared to make your point in several sentences. If you are calling about a specific bill it is helpful to know the number of the bill.
• The staff member answering the phone is making brief notes about the subject of your call and your opinion. If you have something to say that cannot be said in several sentences, write a letter.
• Ask for a response that includes the legislator's position on the issue.
• Realize that the staff member answering the phone may have been instructed not to make detailed comments about the issues, this is done in letters, so that the legislator's position is not misrepresented.
• Try to get as specific answer as you can either by phone or in writing.
• Follow-up with a letter if possible, mail, fax or e-mail it to the legislator's office.

Record the name of the legislator's aides and their direct phone numbers if available. Keep track of your calls and correspondence, make follow-up calls if you do not receive timely replies.