Join us in changing the lives of moms and families one policy at a time.

Maternal Mental Health Virtual Advocacy Day

This is our annual, virtual event when we bring advocates from across the country together to educate our elected officials in Congress about maternal mental health programs and policies.

Registration for Advocacy Day is closed, but you can still join our National Day of Action for Maternal Mental Health on April 2!

We are organizing an online Day of Action that will enable you to contact your elected officials in support of maternal mental health programs in just a few minutes!

Fill out the form to know when the Day of Action is live.

We are advocating for continued federal funding for maternal mental health programs.

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

Provides 24/7 voice and text resources and support to moms and families.

LEARN MORE

Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Program

Provides education, consultation, and resources to healthcare providers who support mothers.

LEARN MORE

Advocacy Day includes several activities.

Joining Meetings

You will be joining virtual meetings with Congressional Offices.

Contacting Elected Officials

You will be contacting your elected officials about maternal mental health policies and programs.

Sharing on Social Media

You will be sharing on social media to encourage your community to join you in taking action.

What people are saying about Advocacy Day…

  • “Empowered and grateful to share my story publicly for the first time in order to advocate on behalf of others whose voices remain unheard.”

    Natasha Fahlgren, Consortium Manager, Healthy Start Enhanced - San Bernardino

  • "It was great to be able to be part of bills being supported and passed advancing maternal mental health resources."

    Adriana Reyes de Merkle, MSW, LCSW Candidate, Lead Advocate Board Member for PSI-MT, Expecting first-time mom

  • "Fired up! I was so impressed and moved by how much my fellow moms had been through, and that they had turned their struggles into action."

    Jessie Colbert, Founder and Executive Director, Mass. PPD Fund

  • "On top of the world!"

    Ambar Rivera, CD/PCD(DONA), LCCE, CLC, CLE, SBD

  • "Great experience. I feel very proud to be involved!"

    Joan Stefka, BS Health Science, Will County Health Department Well-Woman Program

  • "Like a champion."

    Mercedez Johnson

  • "Elevated and empowered! It was great to be able to voice the needs in our field directly to the lawmakers’ offices."

    Simal Ozen Irmak

  • "As someone who struggled during postpartum with my girls and boys, knowing there are individuals and organizations advocating for high quality care touches my heart."

    Laela Bisgrove

  • "I felt like I'd done something that might make a real difference for moms and families."

    Nicole

  • "I enjoyed sharing my experiences and the experiences of mamas in my community with the different Congressional offices."

    Tamara Robertson, Mama, US Navy Veteran, Community Doula

  • "It was amazing to think that these people might remember our stories and share them when making decisions in the future."

    Rachel

Hosted by

Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA)

We are a 501(c)3 nonpartisan nonprofit organization leading national efforts to improve maternal mental health in the United States by advocating for policies, building partnerships, and curating information.

In partnership with…

PARTNER

Postpartum Support International (PSI)

Postpartum Support International (PSI) is the go-to support resource for new mothers and parents. We are proud to have them as an Advocacy Day partner.

PARTNER

MomsRising

MomsRising is an on-the-ground and online multicultural organization of more than a million members and over a hundred aligned organizations working to increase family economic security, to end discrimination against women and mothers, and to build a nation where both businesses and families can thrive.

PARTNER

Chamber of Mothers

Chamber of Mothers is the largest nonpartisan nonprofit fighting for maternal rights in the U.S. — reaching between 4 and 20 million mothers a month with 100,000 members nationwide, and 41 local chapters in 29 states (and counting).

FAQs

  • The core activity of Advocacy Day is virtual meetings with staff members from Congressional offices. The goal is to help educate these individuals about maternal mental health, share why this issue is important to you, and ask for continued funding for maternal mental health health programs.

    Advocates are assigned to teams of 3-5 people, each of which includes an experienced advocate who serves as Team Leader. Each team will have 2-6 virtual meetings with staff from Congressional offices representing your state(s). 

    Advocates will also have the opportunity to contact elected representatives in Congress through an automated email system, as well as to share information about maternal mental health advocacy through social media.

  • Absolutely! We will teach you everything you need to know to be an effective advocate, including sharing information about the programs we are supporting and providing talking points for meetings with Congressional offices.

    You will not be alone: all advocates are assigned to teams of 3-5 people, including a Team Leader, who is an experienced advocate.

    The MMHLA team, as well as your fellow advocates, will help support and prepare you for Advocacy Day.

  • We want to be sure that all advocates are prepared for Advocacy Day activities. During this training, you will learn about maternal mental health programs and policies as well as how Advocacy Day will unfold. You will also meet your advocacy team members and the MMHLA team who will be guiding you through this important work. 

  • The All Advocate Training is for everyone participating in Advocacy Day. The Team Lead Training is specifically for people who want to be (or who have been asked to be) a team leader for a group of advocates. Only team leaders need to attend the Team Lead Training.

  • We ask all advocates to commit to participating in activities from 11am to 4:30pm ET.

    We start Advocacy Day with a 30-minute rally session, then individual teams will meet for 30 minutes.

    Meetings with Congressional offices are scheduled from 12pm - 4pm ET; each team will have 2-6 meetings during this time period.

    During this time, advocates can also use an automated email system to share information about maternal mental health with Congressional offices and post to social media. 

    We will end the day with a 30-minute debrief session.

  • Since we know that the most effective advocacy includes both data and stories, we ask potential advocates to be prepared to share their personal story.

    We encourage you to be mindful about how sharing your story and/or hearing other stories might impact your mental and emotional health and to plan accordingly.

    It is also okay to decide that this year might not be the best year to participate if it will be too challenging. Your mental health always comes first.

  • There is a registration fee of $25 per person because a lot of time and resources goes into organizing this event. If this fee is inaccessible to you, please reach out to Mia Hemstad at mhemstad@mmhla.org.

  • MMHLA strives to make Advocacy Day accessible to all.

    We use Zoom for our virtual meetings. Participants will have access to the accessibility features available in Zoom, including live captioning, transcription, screen reader access, etc. We will also record and share the training sessions.

    If you need any accommodations, please email Mia Hemstad at mhemstad@mmhla.org by March 16.