1. Introduction to YPR: Explain Young People in Recovery’s mission and the populations served, highlighting the importance of empowering individuals in recovery.
2. Voter Guide Overview: Present the voter guide distributed to YPR participants, emphasizing its role in educating and mobilizing voters, particularly those in recovery.

3. Pick one topic from the list below to discuss with your elected official.

List of topics (grouped by area):

Legislation to Improve Recovery Outcomes:

• Recovery-Related Legislative Initiatives: Ask the elected official if their office is working on any legislative initiatives related to recovery or substance use disorder (SUD) support that would impact people in your community.
• Public Health and Recovery Programs: Ask how their office is supporting public health programs in your community that focus on harm reduction, peer recovery, or overdose prevention.
• Legislative Advocacy for Recovery: Offer YPR’s assistance in advocating for recovery-related legislation and ask how YPR can help support their office’s efforts on these issues in your community.

Increased Funding to Expand Community-Based Recovery:

• Support for Mental Health and SUD Funding: Inquire about the elected official’s stance on expanding funding for mental health and substance use treatment services in your community.
• Medicaid and Recovery Services: Inquire about their stance on expanding Medicaid coverage for peer recovery services or other support for SUD treatment for constituents in your community.

• Insurance Parity for Recovery: Ask how their office is working to ensure that parity laws requiring equal coverage by insurance companies for behavioral and mental healthcare are being enforced in your community.

Harm Reduction Programs to Save Lives:

• Naloxone Access and Harm Reduction Efforts: Discuss the importance of access to naloxone and other harm reduction tools in your community, and ask how their office is supporting these efforts.

• Safe Consumption Sites: Discuss how safe consumption sites have saved lives and reduced the spread of infectious diseases in the U.S. and abroad. If the lawmaker is against them, ask what factors might influence them to reconsider. How might YPR provide evidence that could cause them to change their mind?

Life-Skills to Sustain Long-Term Recovery:

• Recovery Housing: Ask about the official’s stance on policies that support recovery housing and access to affordable, sober living environments in your community.
• Workforce Development for People in Recovery: Ask if they are working on any initiatives that help individuals in recovery gain employment or access to job training programs in your community.
• Recovery-Friendly Workplaces: Discuss initiatives for creating recovery-friendly workplaces and how their office can promote these efforts in your community.

Health Equity in Recovery: 

• Decriminalization and Justice Reform: Discuss recovery-friendly policies related to criminal justice reform and how they might impact your community, such as decriminalization of drug use or expungement of records for non-violent drug offenses.
• Addressing the Overdose Crisis in Historically Marginalized Communities: Inquire about any policies or funding related to addressing the overdose crisis that would improve outcomes in historically marginalized and under-served communities.
• Accessible Treatment Facilities: Ask what the official is doing to ensure adequate access to treatment facilities, especially in rural or underserved areas.

Expanding Access to Recovery Supports:

• Youth and Prevention Programs: Ask how their office is promoting evidence-based prevention efforts for youth, particularly in communities with high rates of substance use.
• Stigma Reduction Efforts: Ask what actions their office is taking to reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder and mental health in your community and how more people can be encouraged to seek help.
• Veterans and Recovery: Discuss policies or programs aimed at supporting veterans in recovery, especially those dealing with co-occurring mental health challenges in your community. 

• Pregnant & Parenting Individuals with SUD: Inquire how they are working to expand programs for pregnant and parenting individuals with SUD in your community. 

Partnership Opportunities: 

• Subject Matter Expertise: Offer YPR as a partner to collaborate on community-based recovery initiatives or educational campaigns on substance use in your community.