ASAN October Newsletter
Dear friend,
In a month of tricks and treats, the scariest things are the very real threats to our communities’ rights! Check out what we’ve been working on this month and what you can do to help.
Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday to celebrate self-advocacy at our annual gala! Our panelists for Sowing Safety: Cultivating Protections and Weeding Out Harmful Policies During the Ongoing Pandemic discussed the continual erosion of pandemic protections, the harm caused by mask bans, and what we can do to support and keep each other safer, while our panelists for Digging Deeper: Autism and Mental Health talked about how the current systems are failing people with both IDD and mental health disabilities, and what changes we want to see. And of course, we were thrilled to once again honor our community members doing important work around advocacy, community building, and more. In case you missed it, you can check out everything here! Thank you again to our Silver sponsors Verizon, Caresource, Centene, ICDL, AAPD, and AT&T!
We also released our annual report, Grow With Us — check it out here! You can read the letter from ASAN’s incoming Executive Director Colin Killick and see what we’ve done throughout the year. All of this is only possible thanks to your support, so thank you for everything you do to keep ASAN going!
Missed our Get Out the Vote webinar earlier this month? Check out both of our GOTV webinars together! A lot of the time, disabled people are forgotten about or ignored when we talk about voter discrimination. From inaccessible polling places to volunteers not knowing how to work the accessible ballot machines, there can be unique barriers to our ability to vote. Many of us have questions every step of the way. That’s why we’re here to help! We have a series of webinars all about your right to vote, and plenty of resources on registering to vote, making a plan to vote, and so much more! If you haven’t voted already, please make sure to get out and vote this coming Tuesday, November 5th.
As of now, about 39,500 disabled people are paid less than minimum wage and about 88% of that group is in segregated workplaces. That is unfair. All disabled people deserve to be paid the same amount as nondisabled workers doing similar jobs. We can make this happen with your help! The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (H.R.1263) is a bill that would give states and businesses the help they need to create competitive integrated employment opportunities for disabled people. Competitive integrated employment (CIE) means a job where disabled people are paid at least minimum wage and work with both disabled people and nondisabled people. Learn how you can help TCIEA become a law this year!
As we celebrate our community, reflect on the work we’ve done this year, and think about the work to come, we’re grateful to do it all with your support. Our gala theme, Grow With Us, is a reflection of the importance of our grassroots. Advocacy is never done alone, and we thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
The Team at ASAN
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