AFINS current letter writing campaigns is seeking answers as to why $800 million went missing from the Florida APD waitlist and how and when it is going to be returned so disabled people on the waitlist can be removed from it and start receiving desperately needed financial assistance. Start writing today and make your voice be heard. If you’d like more information or assistance you may attend the AFINS Workshop, hosted by Debbie Jenkins, every Tuesday from 1:30pm to 4:00pm at the Sumter County Clerk of Court Villages Annex, 8033 E County Rd 466, Lady Lake, FL 32162.
Writing a letter to a government official to ask for help can be intimidating. It is best to keep your letter short and succinct. State your request (ie: your proposed action, or your support of or opposition to a proposed policy change) up front in a few short sentences. It can also be motivating to add a second short paragraph telling your personal story, but keep it short. Most importantly be pleasant – do not threaten, be nasty, grovel or bribe.
Here is an excellent website detailing how to write letters to elected officials. It includes a checklist, examples, and even a PowerPoint presentation
E-mailing a government official is common today because of ease and speed, but the one disadvantage is that it can be gone with a simple click of the DELETE button, unless the recipient first goes through the trouble of printing your message. If you are going to use e-mail for your correspondence, be particularly clear and emphatic about your message from the beginning.
If you choose to send an email to your elected official, we have made it easy for you. Simply go to our Florida Representatives page and click on the photo of the elected Florida official to which you want to write. You’ll be taken to their website. From their find and click on the “contact” or “e-mail” link, then compose and send your email.
If you want to write to an elected official not on the Florida Representatives page, open your favorite web browser and search for “email elected official’s name”. For best results include their title. The search will result in a link at, or near, the top of the list that says “email” or “contact” “elected official’s name”. Simply click on the link, compose, and send your email.
Postal Mail
Sending a letter through the post office can be cumbersome because you have to go through the trouble of addressing the envelope, buying the stamp, and mailing your letter. But a typed or handwritten letter can sometimes carry more weight because the recipient might acknowledge the extra effort you put into it, and may be less likely to get lost
You can easily find the mailing address for Florida elected officials by clicking on the same photos referenced earlier on our Florida Representatives page.
Letter Format
Your street address
Your City, State zip code
Date
Office of Official’s Title & Name State of Florida
Official’s full address
To the Honorable Official’s Title & Name,
Write your message in a couple of paragraphs
Sincerely yours,
Sign your name here
Print your name here
Sample Letter
1 Main Street
Timbuktu, Fl 12345-6789
June 1, 2024
Office of Senator Dennis Baxley State of Florida
404 Senate Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
To the Honorable Senator Dennis Baxley,
I read in the May 15th Orlando Sentinel that $800 million was left on the table instead of delivering funds to some of the 23,000 disabled people on the waitlist. I am outraged and want to hear from you what is being done with those funds and how to remedy this miscarriage of justice.
I am the father and caregiver of my 32-year-old son, Brian. He was born with a genetic syndrome, called Fragile-X, that affects his intellectual ability. He has been accepted into the Agency for Persons with Disabilities – State of Florida (APD) program and put on the waitlist, now called the “Developmental Disabilities Individual Budgeting Waiver”.
It is my hope that you are investigating where the funds have gone and that they will be brought back to assist the disabled. Individuals on that list have gone through the rigorous APD application process and deserve to receive the funds to relieve their financial burdens.
I await your answer and resolution. Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
John Doe