Use Your Voice to Advocate for the Amputee Community
We use our voices every day to establish a connection or communicate our needs and wants. Having a voice empowers an individual as it is crucial to expressing beliefs and different points of view. But the most amazing thing about voices is that it can be used on a large scale to communicate a need for change.
This month, we are going to use our voice to advocate for the needs of millions of amputees, and we invite you to join us in this endeavor. We are one with the Amputee Coalition in celebrating Limb Loss Awareness Month (LLAM) this April, and we join them in taking this opportunity to use our voice to bring much-needed change through various virtual activities that will take place this month.
One of LLAM’s landmark activities is Hill Day, an annual national advocacy day usually held on Capitol Hill. In past years, Hill Day has allowed many amputees to advocate for issues that matter most to them, such as the Insurance Fairness for Amputees legislation. This year, despite the limitations brought by the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, we are taking Hill Day online.
We invite you to use your voice and join Amputee Coalition’s Virtual Advocacy Forum on April 26 to 28, 2020. The forum features a series of interactive virtual sessions with advocacy experts who will lead the discussions and training sessions, as well as answer any questions you might have.
The overarching goal of the Virtual Advocacy Forum is to help you find ways to make a difference to amputees everywhere during and even after LLAM. The forum will equip you with an understanding of the policies that are affecting the community in the US. Advocacy experts will also help you tell your story in an impactful way that will make Congress consider issues that are important to you or your loved ones, including disability rights, healthcare, research, and insurance, among others.
The forum begins on Sunday, April 26, at 1:00 pm. The first interactive session is called “Learn About Being An Advocate; Goals for 2020 Policy Advocacy.” The second session is scheduled for Monday, April 27, at 1:00 pm. It aims to provide attendees with essential information on the public policy issues that are important to the community right now. Experts will also discuss what Congress is doing to provide COVID-19 relief.
The third session is slated for 5:00 pm. It is titled “Making the Ask and Telling Your Story.” Since its inception, Hill Day aims to help everyone in the community tell their story so Congress can better understand why specific issues matter to the limb loss and limb difference community. This session aims to help you craft a short but relevant and compelling story.
On the last day of the forum, April 28, everyone will review policy priorities, as well as how to ask Congress to support the amputee community. By noon, all attendees will reach out to Members of Congress. Doing this together is important to get Congress to pay attention.
As the saying goes, “One person can make a difference.” You can make a difference. Register for the Virtual Advocacy Forum here.
