On January 23rd, along with three dozen other advocates for Positive Parenting, three of our staff at First 5 Mendocino went to the Capitol in Sacramento to advocate for Positive Parenting.

It was a full day, which started with a group meeting of other parenting advocates throughout California, and then we all had individual meetings with our local representatives. Our team – Townley Saye; Executive Director, Bonnie Boek; Program Director, and Jade Aldrich; Triple P Peer Support Specialist – was able to have private meetings with staffers from offices across California. Among the most important were those who work with Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood, who work on behalf of Mendocino County residents.

We had productive and engaging conversations with both staffers and were quick to share our successes as well as our needs in having the support to continue outreach to families in our community who need extra support and help. We came away from our meetings at the Capitol with a renewed hope for change and support at the state level, a comfort that there are voices there who know and understand the needs of our rural community, and a beautiful reminder that we are not alone in our work to strengthen and help families have better and more equitable access to quality care and support.

We will continue to push for positive change and do all we can to improve the quality of life for all families in our community.