Advocacy

"Grassroots advocacy" is patients, community leaders, local residents, and any Community Health Center supporters telling / educating their local, state, and national government officials about important issues, ideas, and opinions.  Grassroots advocacy is very effective when several individuals of an organization with a similar message write letters or e-mails and make phone calls to these government officials about key issues.

Getting involved in grassroots advocacy is easy.  It involves sending messages to your representative members of the Indiana General Assembly and Congress about important health care issues, attending Health Center events, or writing a letter to the editor or your local paper expressing the importance of supporting health centers. 

The Indiana Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) makes it even easier by providing Legislative Updates to member individuals and organizations for staff and patients during key legislative periods, and VoterVoice.  VoterVoice is an online tool to sign up to find your Government representative and send messages to your representative member of the Indiana General Assembly and Congress.  Click the link above to sign up for VoterVoice.

The issues that IPHCA champions align with its mission to advocate for quality health care for all those residing in Indiana and to support the development of community oriented primary care initiatives, that are: affordable, available, accessible, appropriate, and acceptable.  Every year, IPHCA's Board of Directors determines key policy positions for the Indiana General Assembly. IPHCA partners with the National Association of Community Health Centers on national policy issues.

IPHCA is available to provide grassroots advocacy training for organizations throughout Indiana.  IPHCA also provides a Legislative Day where member organizations and individuals visit their Indiana General Assembly representatives to discuss key issues.  IPHCA also leads a delegation to visit Congressional representatives every year at the National Association of Community Health Centers Policy and Issues Forum.