Town hall meetings
Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act of 2007: Attend a local town hall meeting!
Help build support for the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act of 2007 (H.R. 1188/S. 1459) by attending a local town hall meeting and speaking face-to-face with your senator or representative about this important legislation.
With H.R. 1188 and S. 1459 introduced in Congress, we, the psoriasis community, finally have the chance to put into law some of the steps that will bring us closer to a cure.
To help ensure that this landmark legislation receives broad bipartisan support, we need as many members of Congress as possible to co-sponsor it. You can help us build support in Congress by attending a town hall meeting. This is a perfect opportunity for you to educate your senators and representative about psoriasis, letting them know that this disease impacts constituents and deserves attention.
Participating in a town hall meeting is easy. Here's how you can take part:
1. Contact your senators' and representative's local district office to find out if and when they plan on holding town hall meetings in your area.
 You can find the contact information for each member of Congress's local office by entering your ZIP code here. Click on the "info" links below their pictures. District office information is included under the section "Contact Information."
Call your member of Congress's district office that is close to where you live. Ask for information on upcoming town hall meetings.
Ask to receive your member of Congress's newsletter so that you will know about future town hall meetings and events. You may also be able to sign up for their newsletters via their Web sites.
2. To prepare for your meeting, review the downloadable materials below. Print out a copy of the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act bill summary and a copy of the fact sheet for your state to provide to your member of Congress during the meeting.
3. If possible, invite a friend or family member to join you during the meeting. Doing so will help your member of Congress to see that psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are important concerns for his/her constituents.
4. Upon arriving at the town hall meeting, check to see whether there is an established procedure for the meeting. Often there is a sign-up sheet for individuals who would like to ask questions. Then, when called on, ask your member of Congress the question(s) about his/her support for psoriasis that we suggest in the materials you downloaded.
5. The key to advocacy success is follow up, follow up, follow up. Once you have attended a town hall meeting, the next step is sending follow-up correspondence to the elected official. Template follow-up letters can be found below. If a friend or family member joins you during the meeting, be sure that they follow up as well.
6. Don't forget to tell us what happened! Click here to let us know what happened during the town hall meeting you attended. It is very important for you to share this information with the Foundation so we can better understand your legislators' views on psoriasis and how we can best work with them to gain support for psoriasis-related efforts in Congress.
Downloadable materials
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