ASAN November Newsletter
Dear friend,
As we’ve begun wrapping up the year, we’re still hard at work here at ASAN! We’ve celebrated self-advocacy and looked back at the work we’ve done this year, and we’ve continued to work on the issues to come!Â
Earlier this month, we celebrated ASAN’s birthday at our 2023 ASAN Gala, featuring a night of panels, awards, and community. In what many consider a post-COVID world, we were excited to celebrate virtually to keep our community safer and spend the night with our friends and allies from around the world. You can check out everything you missed here! Thank you again to our Gold sponsors, ICDL and Verizon, and to our Silver sponsors, Caresource, Centene, Elevance, AAPD, and AT&T.
We also released our annual report, We Weave Our Own Story. Read all about what we’ve been working on in 2023 and read the letter from ASAN’s outgoing Executive Director Julia Bascom. And while you do, know that all of our work is possible because of your support.
This month, ASAN submitted our comments on the proposed updated regulations to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. There have not been updates to the regulations since they came into effect in 1977, and this update is vital because we have the chance to protect the rights of disabled people. Previously, we had applauded the proposed changes and called on our grassroots to comment as well. Thank you to those who joined our webinar “Pushing for Change: Commenting on the Proposed 504 Regulations” and submitted their own comments! It’s important for our community to take the opportunity to tell the government why these changes matter to us.
This month marked a year since Lois Curtis’ passing, and ASAN still mourns for her and celebrates her life. Lois Curtis was one of two people who sued for their rights in an important disability rights case called Olmstead v. L.C. You can read ASAN’s statement remembering Lois Curtis here.
We’re incredibly grateful all of the support from our community during #GivingTuesday this year. Thank you for joining us and showing your support! Our work on safety for our community, fighting for our social safety net, and making autistic voices heard is only possible thanks to your continued support. Whether you’ve become a member, shared our resources, or visited our Action Center to speak out on disability rights issues, we appreciate you!
Sincerely,
The Team at ASAN
Our policy team has been hard at work this month — and every month! Check out what ASAN has been up to:
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