MCADSV staff and member programs develop relationships with legislators and their staff to advance public policy through the art of conversation and connection. These are conversations that key in on the priorities, world view, personalities and life experiences of public policy makers to make a human and personal connection with those who are in a position to make a difference on issues of domestic and sexual violence.
Missouri Capitol Advocacy Days
Advocates from MCADSV member programs meet annually in the Capitol with legislators each week in February to put into practice the slogan of MCADSV’s legislative advocacy: “We change laws. We change lives.” During MCADSV’s Capitol Advocacy Days, face-to-face meetings occur between advocates and survivors from every MCADSV membership region with Missouri’s 34 state Senators and 163 state Representatives.
In a weaving of old-school Capitol office visits and new communications
tools, MCADSV members advance their advocacy through social media in
live Twitter campaigns during crucial appropriations hearings. With 280 characters, advocates detail for legislators the numbers of victims
helped in their districts with life-changing services supported through
the funding that flows from a printed line-item in a budget bill. Using
the Missouri General Assembly’s legislative hashtag, #moleg, advocates
tweet thanks to legislators after in-office visits to give them public
credit in the Twitter-sphere for committing to support MCADSV priority
legislation.
National Advocacy Day
MCADSV staff and members travel annually to Capitol Hill to advocate for federal funding and legislative support in the mission to end sexual and domestic violence.
To learn more about the 2018 federal policy priorities, read #NNEDVAD18: Advocates Converge in Washington.
Identify your state and federal legislators
For a map of Missouri's Congressional Districts, websites and contact information for Missouri's U.S. Senators and Representatives, and members of the Missouri General Assembly, go to the Missouri Secretary of State's Roster.
To find and contact your state legislators
• House
• Senate
To find and contact your federal legislators
• House
• Senate