From bomalley at mhanys.org Tue Dec 30 17:22:38 2003 From: bomalley at mhanys.org (Bryan O'Malley) Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 17:22:38 -0500 Subject: [Timothy's Team] Let's Recap - Timothy's Law and the grassroots movement in 2003 Message-ID: <002901c3cf23$70d68da0$8901a8c0@MHA> Well, 2004 is almost upon us, and it only seems right that we take a moment right now to review 2003. It was certainly a busy year. One which saw the introduction of "Timothy's Law" for the first time, as Tom and Donna O'Clair joined the campaign in January and quickly became two of the most active and ardent supporters of the bill, named after their son, that we could hope for. In February, supporters of the bill started coming to Albany from throughout the state, communicating their support for Timothy's Law to legislators and making it clear that as constituents, they hoped to see their legislator's name listed as a co-sponsor. In March, the campaign picked up yet another high profile supporter in Jessica Lynch. Jessica would eventually go onto become Miss New York State, and has spoken passionately about Timothy's Law at every event she has taken part in, including the Miss New York State pageant in June. The campaign gained momentum in April when Assemblyman Paul Tonko, the O'Clair's representative in the Assembly, introduced Timothy's Law with 50 of his peers. In May, Senator Thomas Libous introduced Timothy's Law in the Senate on May 29, with 32 of his peers in the Majority signed on as co-sponsors. Jessica Lynch and the O'Clairs also took advantage of the end of winter by doing a whirlwind media tour through Upstate New York, gaining prominent media attention for the issue, and beginning the process of making those outside the mental health community and Albany aware of the presence and importance of this legislation. June was a watershed month for Timothy's Law. At the beginning of the month, Assemblyman Tonko ushered Timothy's Law through his chamber by a vote of 131-11. The issue then gained national attention as it was featured on NBC's Today Show. This prompted massive interest in the issue, as the Timothy's Law website averaged at times 1,000 hits per hour. The large grassroots effort that had been built became evident when thousands gathered on the boardwalk on Long Island to march in support of Timothy's Law. Over the summer, supporters of Timothy's Law began several innovative efforts to draw attention to their issue both in the media nad in the Senate. In July, the campaign began sending $1.26, the per person per month cost of Timothy's Law, to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. The message was clear, "We are willing to part with this money, and want you to pass Timothy's Law so we can." In September, hundreds gathered in Albany's Washington Park to march on the Capitol and demand that the Senate pass Timothy's Law. This event coincided with the Senate's one day return to Albany, and while it did not result in the passage of Timothy's Law, it did draw attention to the issue yet again, once again raising public awareness. Indeed, Jim Franco of the Troy Record, Senator Bruno's hometown paper, called the rally, "...the most impressive event I have seen on the storied east steps (of the State Capitol)." He went on to conclude his article by saying, "With the heartfelt conviction, blind determination and genuine human compassion I saw Tuesday, it is appalling to think they (Timothy's Law advocates) are still being turned a deaf ear." As winter approached, the spirit of Timothy's Law supporters did not wane. In early November, hundreds of supporters once again gathered, this time in Buffalo, to call for the passage of Timothy's Law. In New York City, supporters of Timothy's Law gained a great friend and ally when New York City Councilman David Weprin of Queens introduced a resolution calling upon the New York State Senate to pass Timothy's Law. Throughout the state, supporters took to the streets to flyer their neighborhoods and spread the word about this important campaign. MHANYS, one of the primary organizations supporting Timothy's Law, used the time to issue a report about the high costs of health care, and linking it not to health insurance mandates, but to the million dollar salaries being paid to insurance company CEO's. Although this report was not directly linked to Timothy's Law, it was obviously relevant as an answer to the issue of cost that insurance industry lobbyists have been using in opposition to Timothy's Law. Finally, in the weeks before the holiday, Santa Claus even appeared to show his support for Timothy's Law. Santa perused the halls of the Legislative Office Building in Albany giving coal to the NYS Senate for their failure to pass Timothy's Law. Although Timothy's Law did not pass this year, we must look at our accomplishments and achievements. By turning Timothy's Law into an issue with large grassroots support and almost universal name recognition, we accomplished what very few (outside of ourselves, who always knew what we could do together as a community) thought we were capable of. We have built a statewide team of people that will not stop working until Timothy's Law becomes reality. As we move into 2004, reflect on our successes from this year to steel yourselves for yet another year of advocacy and action. For the fight will not be easy, but then again, those worth winning never are. Happy New Year to everyone, may it be the beginning of a great time for all of us. Please spread this message to those you know, to spread the word of our success and help build the movement to support Timothy's Law. If you have any questions or comments about hits e-mail or Timothy's Law in general, you may reply to bomalley at mhanys.org. Please do not reply to this e-mail, as it will go to a mailbox that is checked infrequently at best. Refer A Friend Friend's Name: Friend's Email: Your Name: Your Email: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: