Glamorous Harrisburg, Baby!

Tuesday the Alzheimer's Association had a rally at the state capital to support House Bill 566, the Family Caregiver Support Act. Long story short, it's a very good bill and directly affects my job. It would raise my budget from $200/mo to $600 to help the elderly stay in their home. (Write your State Senator to support it. That's you, Natalie/Delmar.)

Jule and I decided that going to Harrisburg was important. We had scheduled meetings with State Senators and State Reps. We were grouped into teams and we conveyed the important of suuporting this bill and how it saves the state money in the long run. Really, $600 a month to let a family keep their loved one home and out of an instituation, which is like $10k a month? Huge money saver. And the fact that Jule and I work with the program everyday helped to focus the conversation ( I think) and answer some tough questions the Senators had.

Such as, Senator Tomlinson. "Did you just get tobacco money a few years ago."

I jumped in. "True, but the Dept. of Aging split that money with other programs. Family Caregivers used it to expand the program and increase the number of people served. My office went from serving 130 people to 195. Bill 566 keeps the current number of people served will increase the monthly limit on what we can spend, increasing the help they already receive."

Pretty good save. Tomlinson said that was impressive. :)

Then he said, "The Govenor wants us to find $35 million for heating this winter."

Jule comes in with the best line of the day: "The winter is only three months. This program makes a difference all year long."

Our team leader, Bob (who is also on the board of directors for the Alzheimer's Association) said we did a great job and he wished every team had social workers to help.

So, a very long and very tiring day but very rewarding. And I actually like this government stuff. :) I came home really jazzed about my day and babbled joyfully about who said what to whom and how brilliant I was, etc, and Andy said I missed my calling. I don't know about that, but I deffinately want to do more.