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Why become an advocate
What is advocacy?
An advocate is someone who is committed to change, willing and able to publicly share their commitment, and is open to increasing their knowledge and understanding of the issue. Advocates use a set of strategies and actions to educate and get their message across to different audiences including policymakers, community organizations and community members, business leaders, and media personalities who may have the resources and power to advance a particular issue.
There are many ways that you can become advocate for oral health and other issues you care about. Here are some examples where you can share your families’ dental experiences and advocate for improvement of Medicaid dental benefits and service delivery:
- Attend district meetings where you can meet legislators in-between the legislative seasons in their local offices or in meetings they have open to the public.
- Partner with an organization/group that aligns with your advocacy interests. Many local organizations travel to the state capital every year on designated days to advocate. For example, every year Catalyst Miami organizes a three-day trip to Tallahassee where participating community members, partners and staff can meet with elected official to discuss the issue of greatest concern to their communities.
- Post on social media including Twitter and Facebook using appropriate language and hashtags to get the attention of appropriate regulatory organizations and state legislators.
As you go through the steps of becoming an advocate, we expand on several of these examples and show you in detail how you can advocate.
Why should you become an advocate?
Engaging in advocacy is a way the members of the community, including yourself, can voice your concerns and share your child’s experiences with the goal of addressing oral health policies or program aspects that significantly affect your ability to keep your child’s mouth healthy. Offering insight into your experiences with the Medicaid dental program, including barriers and positive outcomes, can help other families voice their experiences and collectively bring voice and power to the forefront of the oral health policy conversation at the organizational, local, and state levels.
You have a crucial role to play to ensure that legislative, regulatory, and public health entities make informed decisions about Medicaid dental services for your children. Your experiences with the Medicaid dental program give you a unique lens making your advocacy more than just an opinion. Dental caries are the most common chronic childhood disease – there are opportunities for improvement. You have the ability to create positive change and affect children’s oral health and wellbeing across the state of Florida.