An Eye View on Betsy Mc Carthy
An Interview by Suzann Bedrosian
DCN: Hi Betsy, we understand that you went to a Legislative Training Seminar hosted by the Massachusetts State Senate in the spring of 2015. How did you find out about that and what was the criteria for eligibility? Can you tell us the beginnings of your involvement with this type of advocacy work?
BM: This type of training is hosted by the Senate and I found out about it from Sen. Patricia Jehlen’s Twitter account. I follow her and other legislators who have shown support to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and/or serve on committees that ‘hear’ bills that might affect our community. Her office had created a press release announcing the legislative training at the State House.
I contacted my own Senator and requested that he nominate me or add me to a list for the future trainings if he had already nominated someone else. I sent both an email and called his office. His staff called me back to let me know that I would be nominated! Each Senator can nominate one person from his or her district. The one criteria is that you live in the district of the Senator that nominates you and be available on the two weekdays that the Seminar is held at the State House.
The Seminar is not for advocacy related purposes, however participants gain a better understanding of how the Senate works and become more comfortable with interacting with their legislators.
DCN: What was the highlight of this Seminar for you? What does this seminar include and how often is it held? Do you recommend it for others and why?
BM: The training is held twice a year in the Spring and fall. I highly recommend that other people take it. The highlight for me was hearing from the different Senators how they got into politics and elected office and they all emphasized the importance of hearing from their constituents. We had a tour of the State House and followed the legislative process of a Senate bill that was selected in advance by Senate staff. This process included a mock committee hearing and a mock Senate session with Senate President Rosenberg where bill amendments were filed and discussed before the bill was voted on by seminar attendees.
DCN: What skills did you gain as a result participating in this 2 days long seminar?
BM: I had Civics and government classes in school but hearing how this all works from the Senators themselves made the legislative process more clear and took away a lot of the mystery.
DCN: Regarding communication access, how did you participate? What did you use and why?
BM: I used CART. I asked Sen. Jehlen though Twitter about communication access and she said it could be arranged. After contacting my Senator’s office, I sent an email to the State House ADA coordinator Carl Richardson to give him a heads up and then followed up to let him know that I would in fact be attending. My Senator’s office also contacted Carl. I requested either CART or ASL interpreters and it ended up being CART after another Senator nominated a hard of hearing individual whose preference was CART. We found out on the second day during our time in the Senate Chamber that it was the first time CART had ever been used in that room! The CART provider was great and I used an FM system during the tour of the State House.
DCN: If someone wants to join a future training, what do you suggest? Are there any groups currently active where people can join and learn the legislative advocacy ropes with a buddy?
BM: The Seminar does not teach people about advocacy, but a good way to start would be to see if any organizations are hosting Ellen Perkins from CLW who has created a presentation called “How to Talk to Your Legislator.” Additionally, check if any Deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened or Deaf-Blind associations you belong to have an advocacy group or committee. The Seminar is about better understanding the function of the State Senate and covers the budget and bill processes. People interested in participating should check outhttps://malegislature.gov/Engage/EducationalOpportunities/CitizensLegislativeSeminar for more information and contact either their Senator’s office or the Senate Office of Education and Civic engagement if their local Senate seat is empty.
DCN: On a private note, can you tell us more us about yourself, what do you do in life? What is your passion? Your livelihood? Do you have any other hobbies or involvement?
BM: I am a librarian at a private company, helping them with their research and information needs. In my job, I connect people with other people or information and I do the same outside of work as well. I do love to read, play board and card games and take long walks around the city.
I first got involved in the hard of hearing community when I moved to Boston for graduate school, the Massachusetts A.G. Bell chapter had a mentoring program for hard of hearing kids to bring them together with hard of hearing young adults. First I was a mentor and then I ran the program for a few years. I eventually became involved in the Boston chapter of Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and joined the Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) for MCDHH. A few years ago, the SAC created a Legislative Task Force (LTF) to focus on bills of interest to task force members.
DCN: Thanks for sharing yourself with DCN. It was very interesting to get to know you and your perspectives definitely gives us an “eye view” on your legislative training at the State House last year, your life and advocacy work with the Legislative Task Force, the Boston chapter of HLAA, among others.
*Editor note* DCN credits Commissioner Reed for her recommendation that Ms. McCarthy be interviewed with us. Thank you, Commissioner Reed!