To make a united effort and increase our impact, we are asking advocates to contact their NYS Senators and Assemblymembers. Below you will find a template email, letter and Legislative Day of Action Legislator Package. Please tailor the sample letter and highlight any other information you feel your legislators should know. 

Please feel free to cut and paste this letter into an email to request a meeting with your legislator:

Dear {Senator/Assembly Member},

I am ____________(name), _______________(position, title) at _____________(organization), a community-based program providing services to New Yorkers experiencing domestic violence and their families.

I am e-mailing to request a meeting with {Senator/Assembly Member} during the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (NYSCADV) Virtual Legislative Day of Action, on April 26, 2022.

That day, I will be joining domestic violence advocates, survivors, and allies from around the state in asking legislators to support specific legislation that addresses the needs of domestic violence survivors and stops domestic violence from occurring in the first place. We will also be calling for a transformation of New York’s domestic violence service delivery system, which was developed more than 30 years ago and has not been updated since.

I look forward to meeting with {Senator/Assembly Member} to discuss these important issues. Please let me know when the Senator/Assembly Member is available.

Sincerely,

{name}

Please feel free to cut and paste this letter into an email for legislators you are unable to meet with on VLDA. Alternatively, even if you are meeting with a legislator, you can encourage other staff in your office, volunteers or allies to forward this information to the legislator separately. That way legislators will hear the voices of DV survivors and advocates in a variety of ways:

Re: NYSCADV Virtual Legislative Day of Action

Dear {Assembly member/Senator + last name},

I am writing to you today as a/an {advocate, program director, executive director, etc.} at {your organization}.

Domestic violence (DV) victim advocates, survivors, allies, and community members from across the state are joining together today for the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (NYSCADV’s) annual “Virtual” Legislative Day of Action.

With the use of remote technologies and social media platforms, we are sending a resounding message to state lawmakers: Significant reforms are needed to ensure equitable, survivor-centered services are accessible to New Yorkers experiencing DV. Structural change and additional funding also are needed to enhance and expand the options available for DV victims and their families.

New York, once again, has the highest demand for services in the country. In fact, for six out of the last seven years, the state has maintained this number one spot. According to the annual DV Counts nationwide survey conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, on just one day in New York in 2021, more than 6,600 victims of DV received services. What’s worse, on that same day in 2021, nearly 1,000 DV survivors did not get the services they requested. Even just one survivor not receiving services is unacceptable.

During NYSCADV’s Virtual Legislative Day of Action, advocates across the State will be supporting the following legislation to enhance support services for DV victims:

1.    A.8619A Meeks/S.7573 Myrie: expands eligibility for victims of crime to access victim compensation funds;

2.    A.6207B Rosenthal/S.7175A Parker: permits DV survivors to self-attest to their status as a victim to be eligible to break phone, cable TV, satellite TV and utility contracts without penalty;

3.    A.6616 Nolan/S.2584A Brouk: requires K-12 comprehensive sexuality instruction for students in grades K-12;

4.    A.8552 Reyes/S.3593A Biaggi: requires New York State to pay all costs to ensure individuals living in temporary shelters have access to the Internet;

5.    A.8110 Weinstein/S.753 Biaggi: enables parents and their attorneys to obtain copies of court-ordered child custody evaluations and the underlying information supporting the evaluation; and,

6.    A.648A Rosenthal/S.66A Hoylman: creates one-year window to allow adult survivors of sexual assault to pursue civil action against an abuser.

If you would like more information, I can be reached at {phone number}, or you can contact Joan Gerhardt, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at NYSCADV, at 518-482-5465.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

{Your name and title}

Talking points/Q&A can be found here or download a copy here.