Have an impact in just 15
minutes!
WRITE TO YOUR HOME TOWN NEWSPAPER
RESPOND WITH A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO ANY ARTICLE IN YOUR HOME TOWN
NEWSPAPER ON CUTS AFFECTING PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.
Watch for articles on the state budget crisis in your home town
newspaper. Articles will appear regularly that either just mention the
budget cuts or are feature stories. We need to respond immediately to
any stories in our hometown newspapers with a letter to the editor. Ask
your friends and relatives to write also!
KEY POINTS:
(1) The terrible impact of more cuts
(2) A budget must contain new taxes and revenues to pay for the
services that Californians need and want.
(3) The can be NO new constitutional limits on spending authority,
no mid-year budget cutting authority for the Governor, and no other
constitutional schemes that will starve needed services in the coming
years.
(4) We need a responsible and balanced approach to a state budget
that preserves critical services.
WHY write letters: The battleground will
be as much in the media and press as in the Legislature. Newspapers need
to know that these proposed cuts are horrific, that children and
families will be hurt very badly, and that their readership cares. If we
don't tell them, they will not know, the public will not know, and
policy makers will assume that we are not a visible constituency.
Letters are the simplest easiest way to have an impact - we can all do
it. We need to flood the papers with letters. Policy makers always have
staff scan the letters to the editor and report to them what issues
surface.
WHO should write: Everyone.
HOW to write: The best letters are SHORT (less than 200 words)
and to the point and reflect your own experience or the people you know
- But most important is just to write! Very few letters get published,
but every letter that is sent improves our chances of getting some
letters printed. And ALL letters tell the Editorial Board that these
issues matter.
A great technique is to give yourself 15 minutes and send what you have.
That makes it short and from the heart. The results can be amazing.
What NOT to do is to spend hours trying to make it just right - it will
never be just right, and you'll never send it! Don't try and cover
everything you want to say - you can't. Don't try and solve the state's
problems, focus on our own - focus on what the cuts mean to you or the
people you know. Don't try and be perfect - just write. They need to
hear from us.
It is best to reference the article in your letter, for example,
"Saturday's article on Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to disabled
children..." or "Your article, 'Disabled Rally at Capitol,' ..."
WHERE and HOW to send:
Check the editorial page of your newspaper for directions, including
word limit and where to send. Usually we are asked to include our name,
address and daytime phone number. Street addresses and phone numbers are
not published. Letters can usually be sent by mail, fax, or e-mail. (Do
NOT send e-mail attachments).
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