OPRA's Advocacy Army
Why Now?
More than ever, OPRA Members are willing to commit their time and resources to advocate with their state and federal elected officials for their services, their staff, and the people they support. In order to capitalize on the Membership's energy, OPRA developed Advocacy Army to arm providers, families, and Ohioans with I/DD with the skills and knowledge of how to be effective legislative advocates.
The Advocacy Army Curriculum
The curriculum combines lectures from the OPRA team, active learning exercises, and presentations from system partners.
Topics:
| State Advocacy | The Legislative and State Budget Process | Planning and Hosting Effective Legislative Meetings |
| Building Effective Narratives | Leveraging Relationships | The Role of the OPRA PAC |
Who Should Participate?
The Advocacy Army curriculum is designed to be taken by teams of up to five representatives from an OPRA Provider Member. Representatives can include agency administrators, frontline supervisors or direct support professionals (DSPs), people served by the agency, and families served by the agency. Each participant is expected to participate in each in-person training session and the Statehouse Day.
Training Location, Dates, and Times
OPRA's Advocacy Army is scheduled for September 11th and 28th at the Dublin Integrated Educational Center. An Advocacy Day at teh Ohio Statehouse is planned for September 29th. The Advocacy Day will be open to current enrollees and Advocacy Army alumni.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Interested in sponsoring OPRA's Advocacy Army? Please reach out to either Christine Touvelle or Melissa Fannon.
