All Families Deserve a Chance Day at the Capitol

“At the Colorado General Assembly there are 100 legislators and about 500 lobbyists, so the place is crawling with them.” — Aubrey Hasvold, Advocacy Program Manager at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless was among a contingent of economic justice groups on hand to help folks learn how to lobby elected officials in Denver with a legislative agenda crafted to ease the monetary struggle of low income Coloradans.

Advocacy Program Manager Aubrey Hasvold told KGNU her organization’s priorities for this legislative session include changing eviction laws so renters have more than 72 hours to respond and making employment more accessible for those reentering the workforce after serving time in correctional facilities.

Hasvold said the groups collaborated on a lobby day once before and that she was inspired by the turnout and conceded that the corporate version suggests a ratio of 5 lobbyists to every elected official at the state level. “At the Colorado General Assembly there are 100 legislators and about 500 lobbyists, so the place is crawling with them.” She said.

Other organizations involved in the “All Families Deserve a Chance Coalition” Day at the Capital include Metro Caring, the Center for Workforce Education and Employment and the Colorado Center for Law & Policy. Hasvold said the benefits outweigh the challenges such collaborations encounter and believes the power of citizen lobbying is in lived experiences.