OWL has a Washington office and local chapters throughout the country. Its current president, Betty Lee Ongley from Michigan, is a good example of a retired counselor serving as an advocate. As individuals, we can monitor proposed legislation at the national and state level which would affect benefits and services for older adults and let our views be known. For example, the news media is currently full of ideas for revamping social security programs, often with a view toward privatization. Counselors need to be aware that such proposals may negate the safety net provided by Social Security, particularly for women.
Women of color are even more likely to live in poverty than are white women.
Another much discussed issue of extreme importance to older adults concerns financing of health care. When HMOs decide they can not afford to serve older adults, a crisis is at hand which necessitates broad based advocacy. Medicare and Medicaid only partially fill this gap. To maximize our impact it is important to work with some of the groups that already do political advocacy. Both have lobbyists in Washington and chapters in local areas.