POLICY & ADVOCACY UPDATE
Nurse-Family Partnership believes in advocacy in action and this advocacy season has been busy with our moms sharing their stories in state capitols across the country, including Washington, DC.
In California, three of our moms were able to meet with their state legislators about an increase in funding for Nurse-Family Partnership. The three rock stars, Faraha, Amber and Dinh, discussed the various ways that Nurse-Family Partnership has been a part of their lives since learning that they were pregnant.
Dinh spoke about the important role her Nurse-Family Partnership nurse had in helping her raise her son in the United States, faced with a culture very different from her own traditional Vietnamese background. She felt it was important to have an NFP nurse because they are, a “professional not an opinionated person to help raise the child.” After attending the advocacy day, she reflects on her experience by sharing. “I’m glad that I am able to have a chance to share my story and I hope I can make a difference as well.”
Faraha testified in front of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on the power of home visiting. Faraha shared her story of being diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy early in her pregnancy. However, her NFP nurse Rhonda was an instrumental part of making sure she had the best outcomes of pregnancy possible. To ensure the best life for her daughter, despite being a single mom, she began to think about pursing a higher education. Her NFP nurse was there to encourage her along the way! Now, Faraha is serving her community through Black Infant Health, which helps the improvement of health among African-American mothers and babies.
Amber, spoke about being a newly single, unexpectedly pregnant, low-income mother with an incarcerated husband. As she testified before the Senate Budget Committee, she made it clear that her NFP nurse never treated her differently based on any one of those descriptors. Amber noted that her nurse's support helped empower her and has encouraged her to be the best advocate for herself and her son.
In New York, Nathalie, shared her experience about the impact NFP has made in her life with members of the NY Assembly, including Assemblywoman Solages. The Assemblywoman was so impressed with Nathalie that she offered to write her a letter of recommendation to help advance her studies as a full-time criminal justice student.
The strength and resilience shown by these moms makes us honored to be a part of their story and we are grateful for their willingness to share it with others. Parent advocacy is imperative to the work and growth of Nurse-Family Partnership. Parents from across the country are speaking up about the impact it has made on them and their child’s life.
If you know a Nurse-Family Partnership mom or program graduate who you think would be a great candidate to participate in grassroots advocacy, encourage them to sign up to Stay Connected or contact NFP Graduate, Ashlei Watson, in her newly created position as Parent Ambassador at [email protected].
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Nurse-Family Partnership's Policy & Government Affairs Team's mission is to increase program awareness via advocacy & public policy