Coalition Rally Day!!

Today is THE COALITION Rally Day! If you are in Raleigh or near Raleigh we invite you to join us!

THE COALITION (formerly Coalition 2001) represents individuals and organizations statewide, that advocate for persons needing services and supports for mental health, developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases. Since 1991, The Coalition has recommended a budget to the North Carolina General Assembly. Each year during the Legislative session, The Coalition sponsors several advocacy events to bring local advocates to Raleigh to speak with their state legislators. We strongly encourage you to make appointments with your legislators well in advance of the day.

Advocate for better funding for mental health, developmental disability and addictive disease services

Rally at NOON!
Across the street from the Legislative Building , Jones St.

v Parking available at State Fair Grounds (Gate 9) with bus services to Legislative Building beginning at 8:30 am and running to 2 pm

v Registration will open at 8AM on the back portico of the Legislative Building : Participants can get information on the day’s legislative committee meetings, the current budget proposal and begin visits with legislators.

v Trainings will take place at 9, 10 and 11 AM in the Legislative Building Auditorium (third floor): Short trainings will be held on effective ways to communicate your message to Legislators. Volunteers will also be on hand in the auditorium from 8:30 to 12:30 with tips and techniques for making the most of your legislative visit.

v Afternoon, start of Session: Attend the House and Senate sessions – The Coalition members in the gallery will be recognized.

v Popcorn will be available on the portico at 11 am!

The Coalition encourages your participation in this event to advocate for funding for mental health, developmental disability and addictive disease services. For more information on the event, please contact Erin McLaughlin at 919-981-0740 x507 or emclaughlin@mha-nc.org

CARPOOL INFORMATION

To meet others also interested in this event and to find individuals to carpool, please go to the link listed: http://movement.meetup.com/64/

PARKING INFORMATION

Thanks to the generosity of RHA Howell, we will have a bus and two vans that will make a circle from 8:30 am to 2 pm from the State Fairgrounds location to the Legislative Building and back to the Fairgrounds. WE ARE URGING THAT THIS BE AN AREA WHERE PERSONS DRIVING A BUS, VAN OR CAR WITH PASSENGERS CAN COME TO PARK. You will need to take your passengers directly to the Legislative Building and then come back to park the vehicle.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE THE PARKING AND VAN SERVICES, PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY AND PLEASE PARK ONLY IN THE AREA NOTED BELOW.

Directions to Parking –
Take Wade Avenue toward I-40. Get off at the Blue Ridge Roadexit (the one you would take to go to the NC Museum of Art or the State Fair). At the top of the ramp coming from downtown Raleigh turn left onto Blue Ridge Road. Coming from the west
(I-40, exit 289 to put you on Wade Avenue) turn right onto
Blue Ridge Road. Take Blue Ridge up to Trinity Road– several blocks. Turn right onto Trinity Road. Take a left at the oak trees into the Gate 9 access road, then turn right and park in the area immediately adjacent to the oak trees. A Coalition volunteer will be in the parking area. You are parking in the Lower Bunn Field – a satellite area of the Fairgrounds.

REMINDER - WE SUGGEST THAT IF YOU ARE BRINGING A BUS OR BRINGING A GROUP IN A CAR OR VAN – that the driver of the vehicle take the passengers directly to the Legislative Building and drop them of. Then the driver of the vehicle drive to the State Fairgrounds, park the vehicle and return to the Legislative Building by bus.


FOR PERSONS IN WHEELCHAIRS - please note that we will have limited transportation with wheelchair accessibility so it is suggested that those in a wheelchair be dropped off directly at the front of the Legislative Building and that drivers of those vehicles use the shuttle service after parking their cars/vans at the Fairgrounds.