Officials with Kentucky Voices for Health are looking for advocates to help support their cause. KVH focuses on healthcare policy in the Commonwealth, from calling legislators to organizing conferences and panels to discuss policy and share personal stories of hardship regarding health.
Holly Hudnall, Director of Community Engagement said advocates do what is within their bandwidth to do.
“If we are doing a listening session and we need folks in the community to participate in that, they can help us in inviting folks there, support us in getting folks there. We try very hard to work with our advocates to have a reciprocal relationship. Where yes, they are doing things for us, but we are also providing a ton of support to them,” said Hudnall.
Officials said KVH aligns people with the kinds of healthcare they have an interest in. Hosting webinars, town halls, and lobbying legislators to make healthcare better for all Kentuckians.
Hudnall said a large part of being an advocate is being brave enough to tell their own stories and encouraging others to tell theirs.
“When we talk about healthcare, a lot of those issues are very personal issues. You probably aren’t going to sit down and talk to a stranger about the fact that you fell on a trampoline and broke all your front teeth, and it took you a really long time to be able to afford to go to the dentist to get new teeth, right?” said Hudnall. “That’s just not a conversation that normally we might have with a stranger.”
A new engagement survey aims to help people identify the healthcare areas they are most interested in. The survey and more information can be found at kyvoicesforhealth.org.