Cathy Byrd, caregiver from Spokane, heads to Olympia as a Grassroots Legislative Organizer

With the Governor and State Legislature facing a $2.6 billion deficit, our union decided to bring in reinforcements. Small groups of members from specific legislative districts will be coming down to Olympia every Thursday for “Purple Presence” and another 300 are expected to attend Save Long-Term Care Day on Monday, January 25. Our goals are simple. Save Long-term Care and Stop the Cuts. And ready to meet everyone as they come into town: Cathy Byrd, a caregiver from Spokane.

Cathy will spend the next 60 days in Olympia as a full-time Grassroots Legislative Organizer. She’ll be a part of our Capitol Team, scheduling meetings with legislators, attending committee meetings, helping members get comfortable meeting with legislators and teaching members how to talk to the media. She’ll also keep a regular journal while she’s down there.

Cathy’s been to Lobby Day and met with her legislators individually. She even spent time in Olympia when she was in college, working on behalf of other college students. This is the first time she’ll be working full time in Olympia.

“After the session is over, I hope to better understand how the budget gets worked out,” she said. “I also want to learn how to get legislators to understand that long-term care workers save the state money,” Byrd added.

Cathy has been a caregiver for more than 15 years. She spent most of the time caring for two boys who became very close to her. In the last two years they lost their mom and their aunt. Cathy is the closest family they have left. She also cares for her sister, whose diabetes and asthma are getting worse and another client who is 92 years old.

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