Every Voice Matters
Advocacy means speaking up about something that matters to you.
At New Hope Community, we advocate alongside people with disabilities, families, staff, community members, and partners to protect rights, strengthen services, support our workforce, and help create communities where everyone can belong and participate.
Sharing your experience, sending an email, making a phone call, attending an event, or learning more about an issue can all make an impact.
Why Advocacy Matters
Decisions made by elected officials can affect the services, opportunities, and supports available to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Advocacy helps decision-makers understand how proposed laws, policies, and funding decisions affect real people. It can help:
- Protect Medicaid and home and community-based services
- Strengthen funding for disability services
- Support fair wages, training, and recognition for Direct Support Professionals
- Protect the rights of people with disabilities
- Expand opportunities for choice, independence, employment, and community participation
- Ensure that people with disabilities and their families are included in decisions that affect their lives
When people speak together, leaders are more likely to understand what is working, what is at risk, and what our community needs.
Advocacy Made Simple
You can advocate in many ways:
- Send an email or letter to an elected official
- Make a phone call
- Share your personal story
- Attend a rally, public meeting, or advocacy event
- Sign a petition or organizational letter
- Participate in an Action Alert
- Share reliable information with family and friends
- Vote and stay informed about decisions affecting your community
What is an Action Alert?
An Action Alert is a request to speak up about a specific issue at a time when public input can have the greatest impact.
An alert may ask you to contact an elected official, support or oppose proposed legislation, protect important funding, sign a letter, or attend an advocacy event.
New Hope Community makes these opportunities as easy as possible. Each Action Alert explains:
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- What is happening
- Why it matters
- Who needs to hear from you
- What you are being asked to do
- How to take action
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Many alerts take only a few minutes to complete. Some include a prepared message and automatically identify your elected officials after you enter your address. You can often personalize the message by adding your own experience or explaining why the issue matters to you.
Take Action
- Learn about the issue
- Follow the requested action – The alert may ask you to send a message, make a phone call, sign a letter, register for an event, or share information.
- Make it personal – When possible, include one or two sentences about why the issue matters to you, your family, the people we support, or your community.
- Encourage others to participate
- Stay connected – Advocacy is an ongoing effort. Sign up for New Hope Community emails to receive new alerts, updates, event information, and advocacy results. Sign up in the form at the bottom of this page.
Share Your Story
Personal stories help elected officials understand how policies and funding decisions affect the people they represent.
You can simply explain:
- Who you are
- Your connection to New Hope Community or disability services
- Why the issue matters to you
- What you are asking the elected official to do
Example
“My name is ________, and I am a family member of a person supported by New Hope Community. Medicaid-funded services help my loved one live, participate, and build relationships in the community. Please protect this funding and the workforce that makes these services possible.”
Only share information that you are comfortable making public.
Your Elected Officials
Elected officials want and need to hear from the people they represent. The correct official depends on where you live.
Rather than maintaining a single list that may not apply to every family, we encourage you to use the tools below to identify your representatives:
Find Your New York State Senator
- Peter Oberacker – NY Senate District 51
Representing New Hope Community Sullivan County area - Andrea Stewart-Cousins – NY Senate District 35
Representing New Hope Community Westchester County area
Find Your New York State Assemblymember
- Paula Elaine Kay – 100th Assembly District
Representing New Nope Community Sullivan County area - MaryJane Shimsky – 92nd Assembly District
Representing New Hope Community Westchester County area
Full List of Elected Officials in Your Area
When contacting an elected official, include your home address or ZIP code so the office knows that you are a constituent.
Advocacy Events
New Hope Community participates in rallies, meetings, legislative visits, educational sessions, and other opportunities to raise awareness and speak directly with decision-makers.
RESOURCES
New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities
Information about services, rights, self-advocacy, and resources for people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Visit OPWDD
Self-Advocacy Resources
Connections to self-advocacy organizations, the OPWDD Advocacy Office, the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Ombuds Program, and additional educational resources.
Explore Self-Advocacy Resources
New York Disability Advocates
Statewide information and advocacy opportunities related to funding, services, and the disability support workforce.
Visit NYDA
ANCOR
National advocacy information focused on community-based disability services, public policy, and the Direct Support Professional workforce.
Visit ANCOR
Parent to Parent of New York State
Information, peer support, and connections for families of people with developmental disabilities or special health care needs.
Visit Parent to Parent of New York