#AdvocacyMatters: Equipping Advocates

January 20, 2023 / #AdvocacyMatters

The advocacy needs of the disability community are diverse. Fortunately, Ohio's disability community has a lot of great leaders. One of Disability Rights Ohio's primary goals is to help support and amplify those voices wherever and whenever we can.

This past week we officially launched our Advocate Toolkit Series with a webinar on writing effective and engaging letters to the editor. Hosted by communications veteran and DRO partner Marcy Fleisher of Team Fleisher Communications, this event helped outline the roadmap for an advocate’s successful letter to the editor. These letters can have a big impact in informing, influencing, and generating attention.

“I think it’s important for everyone’s voice to be heard,” shared Maria Matzik, a disability rights advocate attended the event. “In many instances people without disabilities speak for us and make decisions for and about us, without our input and inclusion. It’s important to have individuals or groups address issues that affect them directly.”

“One of the most common things I hear from advocates in the disability community is that they have to do so much work educating legislators and even the general public on the disability experiences and perspective,” reflected Alexia Kemerling, Community Engagement Coordinator at DRO. “Letters to the Editor and Op-Ed's are a great opportunity for people to get their perspective published.”

Our Letter to the Editor toolkit is available at https://disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/lettertoeditoradvocatetoolkit_final.pdf. A recording of the workshop can be found here. The password required to view the recording is “F3y9rj?$”

This type of outreach isn’t a one-and-done for us, and we look forward to covering new topics and introducing new tools. Equipping advocates to be their most effective amplifies our shared ideals, bringing the vision of an equitable society one step closer to reality. #AdvocacyMatters