How to be an Arthritis Advocate

You don’t have to be a mover and shaker in Washington, D.C., to get a face-to-face meeting with your Congressional representatives: All you have to do is ask. If you’re planning to be in the Capitol, you can make an appointment for while you’re in town, or if you’d rather stay close to home, call to find out when your representative will be in your area and ask for an appointment then. Even if you don’t meet your representative in person, you can write a letter or send an e-mail.

Start with your story. Your personal experience living with arthritis is the most powerful lobbying tool you have. Keep it simple – include your diagnosis, your daily struggles and the impact of arthritis on your life.

Follow up with the facts. Get familiar with the statistics about arthritis – how many people are affected, how much it costs and what the government has done in the past to help people with arthritis. (The information on www.arthritis.org is a treasure trove.) Putting your personal story into a national context helps your representative understand how far-reaching the effects of arthritis can be.

Know what you want. Are you asking your representative to support a specific bill or part of a bill? Do you want her to vote “no” on a particular issue? If you can tie your story to a specific action item, it’s more likely to resonate with your representative. Note, too, that you don’t have to connect it to an arthritis-specific piece of legislation – you can use a bill designed to, say, promote diabetes awareness, to point out the benefits of a similar bill for arthritis.

Time it right. If an issue is close to a vote or getting lots of media attention, your representative will probably be more tuned in to his constituents’ opinions about that issue.

Be persistent. The legislative process can be slow sometimes. Don’t give up. Keep in touch with your representatives by e-mail or letter, and check their records at election time.