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Texas Well and Healthy

Texas Well and Healthy. Mimi Garcia Organizing Director Cheasty Anderson Education and Outreach Coordinator. Who are we?. Organizing Lead. Public Education, Policy Lead. Communications Lead. Story collection & “ grasstops ” organizing . What are we doing?. Organizing: The Big Idea.

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Texas Well and Healthy

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  1. Texas Well and Healthy Mimi Garcia Organizing Director Cheasty Anderson Education and Outreach Coordinator

  2. Who are we? Organizing Lead Public Education, Policy Lead Communications Lead Story collection & “grasstops” organizing

  3. What are we doing?

  4. Organizing: The Big Idea • GOALS: Engage Texans in the fight for better policies for health access in Texas • TASKS: Identify and Create opportunities to mobilize our base of supporters. Work with other networks to build our base of support. • TOOLS: Voter Activation Network (VAN), Online Actions/Petitions, Text alert, Advocacy pamphlet, Organizational supporter network • STRATEGIES: Building support through educational workshops, working with allied organizations, becoming a communications resource.

  5. Challenges and Solutions • Challenge: Scope and capacity for a HUGE state • Solution: Managing complex coalitions across the state, within cities and regions • Challenge: Managing complex coalitions* • Solution: Maintaining data and records on constituent organizations and their interest/politics • *Sometimes solutions can be their own challenges • Challenge: Too much work, too few staff • Solution: prioritize. Know where to give things up, where to push. • Experimenting with volunteers, interns, & trainers

  6. Education: The Big Idea • GOALS: Educate Texans about the ACA, and open discourse about health reform in general • TASKS: Connect with disparate groups across the state (politically active or not), keep curriculum flexible and adaptable • TOOLS: Education and organizing pamphlet, blog, Train the Trainer • STRATEGIES: Travel. All. The. Time.

  7. Advocacy/Education Tool

  8. Blog: “Ask Cheasty”

  9. Challenges and Solutions • Challenge: varied literacy levels, low health literacy • Solution: Develop materials that are especially flexible, a program that can be simplified or complicated, and bilingual materials • Challenge: HUGE state, one person • Solution: Train the Trainers, Skype, health action calls, video “one-pagers,” webinars, etc. • Challenge: Staying strategic vs. responding to demand • Solution: Targeted outreach based on organizer’s power analysis. Getting easier now that we have greater name recognition.

  10. Case Study: SCOTUS reaction • Rapid response plan • Communications • Public Mobilization • Public Education • Challenges: • Rally without a date, lots of work means need for clear roles, uncertainty • Solutions: • Utilizing groups with mobilizable base, new technology of text messaging, clearly prepared plan and roles, multiple contingency plans

  11. Outcomes • Building our List • Creating New Coalitions/Alliances • Social Media and Technology • Multiple Avenues of Engagement • Media attention: State, regional, and now national • Medical Loss Ratio • Rate Review • Train the Trainer

  12. New Challenges • How to build avenues of messaging on health care reform for new (not necessarily enthusiastic) audiences • Now even Republicans are getting interested, post-SCOTUS • Large number of Freshman Tea Partiers in TX Lege. • 2013 Legislative session – Gov wants even more budget cuts, lots of educating to do for members re: Medicaid/Medicare, health care in Texas • Galvanizing constituent activism in key district for Legew/limited lead time between elections and state of session.

  13. Thank you! Mimi Garcia mimi@engagetexas.org Cheasty Anderson anderson@cppp.org www.texaswellandhealthy.org On Twitter: @TXWellHealthy On Facebook: www.facebook.com/KidsWellTexas

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