After flying for 27 hours and finally reaching Washington, D.C. — the first city where I would begin my first professional job — everything felt like a dream come true. On my final flight, even staring at the “Washington, D.C.” sign at the departure gate made me emotional. On the streets and at Metro stations, I saw people in suits, coffee in hand, dressed in professional attire and rushing to work. As I blended into the crowd at the Metro station, joy rushed through my heart at the thought that I am indeed becoming part of this majestic city.
Amid my amazement and surreal feelings, my work at Families USA reminded me that I was actively working and contributing to the community. At Families USA, improving public health care and lowering costs have been priorities since the organization was founded. The team meticulously studies how health care policies have changed over the years and how each statement or decision from Capitol Hill can heavily affect people’s access to health care for years to come. They collect statistics on the number of people affected by Medicaid and Medicare cuts, interview individuals whose quality of life has been drastically altered, and collaborate with other organizations to raise awareness and amplify their voices before the government.
Working with the communications team, I realized the importance of being a voice for those who are often silenced. The communications team represents people who struggle financially because they lack health insurance. By creating social media toolkits, carousel maps, factsheets, and press releases, … team members provide individuals and other organizations with strategies to demonstrate their support for health equity. They work to ensure that the voices of the public are heard by the government and that health care regulations reflect the needs of the people.
No matter how hopeful a person may be, people at Families USA honestly acknowledge that the work can sometimes be exhausting and frustrating. The entire team works to reduce health care costs and improve health equity, yet funding continues to be cut and hospital prices continue to rise. However, like a river that never stops flowing, the team never stops developing new strategies. They conduct message testing to better reach their audiences, connect with new partners, and send information to new reporters to improve the situation. The resilience of the people at Families USA lies in their belief that they are contributing to positive change in their community.
Working at Families USA also helped me recognize the profound connection between politics and people’s daily lives. Therefore, the interns’ responsibilities were not limited to work inside the office. We had the opportunity to attend a Medicaid hearing and take a Capitol Hill tour to better understand how laws are written, how people strongly advocate for what they believe will benefit the public, and how an amendment can transform the trajectory of a country. During the Capitol Hill tour, I saw that historians and congressional staffers were eager to explain not only the celebrated victories and righteous decisions that moved the country toward prosperity, but also the devastating defeats and ill-conceived decisions that inflicted lasting harm on people’s lives. These experiences outside the office helped me understand that, in both good and difficult times, there will always be people who desire to serve their communities and represent the voices of the silenced. I believe the staff at Families USA are among those people.