In the past five years, over 550 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents, relatives or caregivers.
On Wednesday, March 1st, the disability community will gather across the nation to remember these disabled victims of filicide – disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers.
In the year since our last vigil, our community has lost over 60 more people to filicide. These are just the cases that we are aware of – since we began monitoring this issue, we learn about more murders every week. We read the victims’ names, see their photographs, and gather what information we can about their lives. The criminal justice system has continued to give lighter sentences to parents and caregivers who murder disabled children. And we have seen the news media continue to portray these murders in a sympathetic light. We hold the Day of Mourning vigils to draw attention to these injustices, to commemorate the lives of victims, and demand justice and equal protection under the law for all people with disabilities.
Since 2012, ASAN and other disability rights organizations have come together to send a clear message that disability is not a justification for violence. To learn more or sign up to lead a vigil, view the Anti-Filicide toolkit.
We’ll be at our local vigil on Wednesday, March 1st – and we hope to see you there. If you cannot attend a vigil in-person, please consider taking part in ASAN’s Virtual Vigil.
COVID-19
Some Day of Mourning vigils are virtual, while others are in-person. We recommend that each person consider the potential risks, and make sure to wear a mask and social distance if you attend an in-person vigil. If you are concerned about attending a vigil in-person, please consider attending ours or another virtual vigil in your area.
All vigils below are virtual unless otherwise noted.
2023 Vigil Sites
USA
ASAN Virtual Vigil
Online
WASHINGTON, DC —In Person
Autistic Self Advocacy Network, mbartley@autisticadvocacy.org
CALIFORNIA
Berkeley, CA—In Person
Spectrum@Cal, sarahbayoumi@berkeley.edu & shambhavi15@berkeley.edu
Burbank, CA —In Person
American Lutheran Church, Burbank, pastor@alcburbank.org
GEORGIA
Atlanta, GA —Virtual and In Person
Vincent DeCastro, vincent@abmagency.com
Brookhaven, GA—In Person
Elle Newbern, enewbern@oglethorpe.edu
Darien, GA—In Person
Leila Yoder, leilayoder@bellsouth.net
ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL
Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, hrotti2@uic.edu
INDIANA
Bloomington, Indiana—In Person
Neurodiversity Coalition @ Indiana University, abboshap@gmail.com
Indianapolis, Indiana–In Person
Butler University Advocates For Autism / BUD, butleradvocatesforautism@gmail.com
Muncie, Indiana—In Person
Aidan Draper, aidandraper51@gmail.com
LOUISIANA
Lafayette, LA
The Autistic Penguins tiffany_r@outlook.com
MARYLAND
Churchville, Maryland—In Person
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harford County, martina.kuzenski@gmail.com
College Park, MD
University of Maryland Libraries, nedelina@umd.edu
MASSACHUSETTS
Weston, MA—In Person
Cambridge School of Weston, riverisleib20@gmail.com
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor, MI
Marjorie Herbert, mgherb@umich.edu
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis, MN—In Person
Casey Velcko, ddomtwincities@gmail.com
Morris, MN—In Person
UMN Morris, lthomson@morris.umn.edu
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Portsmouth, NH
jules@neighborhoodaccess.org
NEW JERSEY
Edison, NJ—In Person
Alliance Center for Independence, ctonks@adacil.org
NEW YORK
Ithaca, NY—In Person
Disability Advocates Union, disabilityawarenessunion@gmail.com
New York, NY—In Person
Autistic Adults NYC, autisticadultsnyc@gmail.com
Virtual, New York
NY Assn. on Independent Living, Not Dead Yet, and Ctr. for Disability Rights, dcoleman@notdeadyet.org
Rockville Centre, New York—In Person
Molloy University, Emintz@lions.molloy.edu
PENNSYLVANIA
Collegeville, PA
Ursinus College, jfrymiare@ursinus.edu
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy, info@autisticpgh.org
TENNESSEE
Johnson City, TN
Courtney Johnson, courtney@justkeepstimming.com
UTAH
Salt Lake City UT
Neurodiverse Ut, NeurodiverseUT@gmail.com
Taylorsville Utah
Salt Lake Community College Disability Resource Center, kelly.williamson@slcc.edu
WASHINGTON
Ellensburg, WA
Central Washington University Accessibility Studies Club and CWU ABLE, Christina-Marie.Wright@cwu.edu
WISCONSIN
Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Clayton Mortl, claymort1929@gmail.com
VERMONT
Putney, VT
Katie Roquemore, katieroquemore@landmark.edu
VIRGINIA
Blacksburg, VA
Lydia Qualls, lydia19@vt.edu
Richmond, VA—Open only to staff & students
Pride Place at VHBG, conelykk@gmail.com
VIRTUAL
U.S. Alliance of Women, Nonbinary Persons, and Other Gender Minorities with Disabilities, j.mejias@womenenabled.org
CANADA
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
DEEP (Disability Education Empowerment and Pride) in collaboration with the University of Guelph Disability Community disabilityprideguelph@gmail.com
Toronto, Ontario
Autistics for Autistics Ontario (A4A) rayashields@hotmail.com
EUROPE
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shannon Town, Co. Clare, Republic of Ireland, European Union—In Person
NCPD – The Natonal Council for (the status) of People with Disabilities Company Limited by Guarantee / NCPD Autistic (Advocacy) Council of Irelandutistic (Advocacy) Council of Ireland Damon@NCPD.ie