Write a letter to your legislator: tips for advocates

Even a handful of letters can have a tremendous impact on your state legislator and their decision on whether to focus on or support treatment law reform. Letters do not have to be long-winded or full of statistics – in fact, short letters with personal stories are the most likely to be read.

If you don’t know who your legislator is, call your local library or go online to a site like www.vote-smart.org or www.congress.org. These websites allow you to enter your ZIP code and get the names of your legislators; www.vote-smart.org also allows you to find out more about your legislators. Once you know who your legislators are, www.congress.org gives you the option to write all of your legislators in a form on their web page, with one click.

Remember that you probably know more than your legislator about severe mental illness. Follow these tips for making sure your letter has maximum impact.

The Honorable (Name of Legislator)
(Your State Name) State (Senate or Assembly/House of Representatives)
State Capitol Building Room _____
City, State, ZIP Code

Please forward a copy of your letter to The Treatment Advocacy Center – via fax (703 294 6010), email ([email protected]), or regular mail (200 North Glebe Road, Suite 730, Arlington, VA 22203). This helps us in our efforts to change the law.

October 11, 2003

The Honorable Joe Brown
Florida State Senate
State Capitol Building Room 123
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Dear Senator Brown:

Senate Bill 2748 will allow Florida to provide earlier and more continual treatment for people with severe mental illnesses who are too ill to access services voluntarily. Please support this vital legislation.

My brother, Frank, is like many people with schizophrenia. He does not realize he is ill. We use to think "lack of insight" (anosognosia) was willful denial because of the stigma involved with mental illness. Newer research shows that for many people the inability to recognize their own need for treatment evolves not from denial but from brain dysfunction itself.

Because Frank does not realize he is sick, he sees no reason to accept the services that are available. Instead he revolves through hospitalizations, homelessness and incarceration. A supportive, supervised, and mandated outpatient treatment program like the one included in pending Baker Act reform is Frank's only hope. It can find him treatment, point him toward recovery, and bring him back to us.

I ask you, plead with you, to support revision of the Baker Act. My brother’s health and future depend on it. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Sincerely,

(Your name)
(Your address)
(City, State, Zip code)
(Phone number)

And see the letter that one prominent Los Angeles judge sent to his senator supporting passage of a new law.