Your voice is needed for our letter writing campaign to be a success: Be One of 100 Constituents to Write their Members of Congress!

Be one of the first 100 constituents to actively support the FREED Act (HR 1193) when you join us in our November Letter-Writing Campaign!

Between Tuesday November 3rd and Tuesday, November 17th, our goal is to have at least 100 constituents write letters to their Members of Congress urging them to sign on as a cosponsor to the FREED Act! This is a simple, yet very powerful and effective opportunity for you to use your voice to support the FREED Act. We have had Members of Congress sign onto the FREED Act because of receiving one letter from a constituent --your voice CAN make a difference!

We've outlined the "how to's" below for your convenience. We encourage you to follow the letter format below, but also encourage you to tailor it so that it speaks from your specific connection to Eating Disorders.

Thank you for your support in our November Letter-Writing Campaign! We could not do this without your voice, passion, and commitment to the cause!

...from the Hill,
Jeanine Cogan, Policy Director
Kathleen MacDonald, Policy Assistant


HERE'S HOW:

First:
Find Out, "Who Is My Representative?"

Use this link to find your Representative's information:
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Before you send a letter, FIRST you need to check to see if your Representative is already signed on to the FREED Act (HR 1193) as a co-sponsor! We currently have 25 co-sponsors (listed below). If your Representative is already signed on, you are more than welcome to (and encouraged to) modify the letter into a Thank You letter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kathleen: policyassistantEDC@yahoo.com.

Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 6/11/2009
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] - 2/26/2009
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 6/9/2009
Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3] - 5/12/2009
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 10/8/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 7/22/2009
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. "Gerry" [VA-11] - 4/29/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 5/21/2009
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 2/25/2009
Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1] - 5/5/2009
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - 9/25/2009
Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] - 4/2/2009
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - 9/8/2009
Rep Gordon, Bart [TN-6] - 6/3/2009
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] - 9/14/2009
Rep LaTourette, Steven C. [OH-14] - 4/30/2009
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] - 9/25/2009
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] - 6/3/2009
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 4/21/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 6/9/2009
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] - 5/20/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 4/30/2009
Rep Schauer, Mark H. [MI-7] - 10/14/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 10/7/2009
Rep Smith, Christopher H. [NJ-4] - 3/9/2009


Second:
Find Out, "To Whom Do I Send My Letter?"

Use the contact information posted on your representatives' website. Most offices allow you to email your letter directly from their website. Cut and paste your adapted letter from below into their email. Then send. Third:Compose Your Letter Using the Sample Letter Below as a Guide AND make sure to "cc" on your email: manager@eatingdisorderscoalition.org AND policyassistantEDC@yahoo.com

Make sure to address your letter appropriately by writing it to either Congresswoman or Congressman depending on who she or he is.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Your Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip
telephone number and email address

Date

The Honorable First Name Last Name (Your Representative)
Address of Office (ie: 104 Longworth House Office Building)
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman____________ (last name in the blank)

As a member of the Eating Disorders Coalition and as a constituent of your district who has personally been impacted by eating disorders, I am writing today to ask you to cosponsor the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders Act, (the FREED Act, H.R. 1193). The FREED Act is the first comprehensive eating disorders bill in the history of Congress. The bill focuses on research, treatment, education and prevention of eating disorders and serves as a beacon of hope for the millions of people in our country currently suffering from binge eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS).

At lowest estimate, 9 million American women and 1 million American men suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and EDNOS. It is estimated that between 2-5% of the American population suffers with binge eating disorder. Eating disorders affect every single system of the body and are associated with serious medical complications including cardiac arrhythmia, cognitive impairment, osteoporosis, infertility, heart failure and death. In fact, left untreated anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of all mental disorders, at upwards of 20%. However, when a person suffering from anorexia receives proper treatment, the death rate falls to between just 2-3%.
Research demonstrates that eating disorders CAN be successfully overcome when early detection and adequate and appropriate treatment take place. Unfortunately, at this point in time, eating disorders are all too often undiagnosed or completely misdiagnosed by health professionals, and access to treatment is limited. Less than 1/2 of all people with eating disorders receive the treatment they both need and deserve.

The FREED Act will save lives by providing for better access to proper treatment, research dollars to better understand the etiology and effective treatment of eating disorders, grant programs to ensure more medical health professionals and school personnel be trained on eating disorders prevention and treatment, as well as PSA's to broaden awareness of eating disorders.
Currently the FREED Act has bipartisan support with 25 cosponors. I want to urge you to also sign on as a cosponsor of the FREED Act (HR 1193) today. The FREED Act would have significantly changed my life and could have saved thousands of lives before now. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

(Your Name)