Advocacy at SUS
Written by Judith Jackson, Chief of Staff
The budget woes in Albany are about to hit social service organizations directly and profoundly. We, who provide the services that help so many New Yorkers in need, are being asked to cut our budgets by large percentages. SUS has decided to try to do something about it.
SUS has begun a more proactive stance on advocating for the issues that are related to the programs and individuals we serve. For many years, we have been members of associations that represent similar service organizations to ours in New York City and New York State. These groups, such as the New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies (NYSACRA), Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, Inc., the AIDS Housing Network, and the Home Care Council have provided advocacy work on behalf of us by lobbying in NYC and Albany. These associations are extremely important in what they do – but are also not enough.
SUS has also begun to organize ourselves internally to better support and advocate for our mission. We have organized letter writing and email campaigns and are encouraging our staff and consumers to attend rallies. The parents and families of our developmentally disabled consumers have even formed their own group to advocate for their family members. And we have been participating in awareness days, such as the recent Spread the Word to End the Word Day on March 3rd, a day that was organized to help end the use of the r-word.
As the state of New York continues to tighten its belt, SUS realizes that we must advocate even harder for our consumers, our programs, and for our issues. Please click here to join our mailing list and learn more about how you can get involved.