Piña Coladas, Prison Scandals, and A Whole Lotta Hope (Part 2)

We conclude our conversation with Sarah Jackson of Casa de Paz, an organization that supports immigrants who have been detained or whose family members have been detained. This discussion helped us connect with the topic of immigration less at an issue level and more at a human level; we hope it does the same for you.

Show Notes

Can we just say how fun it was journeying down memory lane and remembering our college advocacy days?! Wow. We were babies. Look at Nic's hair and the Invisible Children shirt she rocked to no end. (Also, there's Jeff, our trusty and talented sound guy- he's been an enthusiastic supporter of Nic & Mere's ventures for YEARS.)

[photos at www.roomforbothpodcast.com]

Above is the crew that got the art auction we talked about off the ground and below is a particularly special treat. See if you can spot Mere (it's like Where's Waldo?, Room For Both style, and friends, once you find her, we promise you're in for a treat.)

The above photo was taken at one of the events Mere and Nic discussed, in which we left our homes (campus) at sun down and walked to the town square to sleep, emulating what hundreds of thousands of Ugandan children had been doing to avoid being abducted from their homes to serve as child soldiers. Our walk was about 1.5 miles, theirs closer to 10 miles each way. These felt like some of the most important days of our lives.

OK. Now onto Resistbot. Resistbot is a texting tool you can use to craft a message to your members of Congress, and the app will send it along for you. 

It’s so easy.

You text the number 50409 and Resistbot will find who represents you in Congress after you answer a couple of simple questions (it’s legit, don’t worry). 

Then, you craft your message and Resistbot sends it to your Representatives. Simple as that!

If you’re interested in calling your members of Congress, find your Senators' phone number here and your Representatives' number here. If you’re not sure what name you’re looking for, use this website to find your Representative, and this website to find your Senator (no shame!)

You can often find a script online for specific issues that you can read on the phone to the staffer who answers (or rehearse ahead of time as Meredith has been known to do). Or you can simply take the question-asking route and say something like, “Hi there! I’m a concerned Idaho citizen wondering what Senator Crapo is doing to help unite families who have been separated at the border...” (Because, why not ask? You’re not being antagonistic- you’re genuinely curious!)

The key, as you of course already know, is to remain humble and kind. These folks field calls all day and by and large WANT to be of help. If they don’t have the answer to the question you asked, they are mandated to go find the answer and call you back- how great is that?!

Fun Fact: Meredith (back in her OVERLY brazen days as a young college activist) once went around to a room full of people all stuck in the basement of our dorm during a tornado and held a phone up to each of their