There is legislation on the books both old, supporting our troops on active service, and new helping people get better terms on their mortgage.

But the bureaucracy at the service providers and at the banks seems to be making it very hard for people who could access this help to get it. The help is there but they on their own can’t connect with the lenders.

So what to do?

Well telling these stories on your local public TV or radio station is going to make this issue important and has a chance of making it easier to get the help that is now law.

Here is Vegas PBS’s story of a couple in Nevada that are typical of those that have had this help denied through the bureaucratic barriers.

If we want change – tell the story. Here is an excellent article by Peter Bregman (Writing for the Harvard Business Review) That reminds us of the power of story to change the world – especially to change entrenched behavior.  Snip:

1. Do dramatic story-worthy things that represent the culture we want to create. Then let other people tell stories about it.
2. Find other people who do story-worthy things that represent the culture we want to create. Then tell stories about them.

For example, if you want to create a faster moving, less perfectionist culture, instead of berating someone for sending an email without proper capitalization, send out a memo with typos in it.

Or if you want managers and employees to communicate more effectively, stop checking your computer in the middle of a conversation every time the new message sound beeps. Instead, put your computer to sleep when they walk in your office.

Or if you’re trying to create a more employee-focused culture, instead of making the bride work on her wedding day, give her the week off.

We live by stories. We tell them, repeat them, listen to them carefully, and act in accordance with them.

We can change our stories and be changed by them.