The Trump Administration May Have Made It Even Harder for People With Disabilities to Access Health Care

From rewire.news, May 2, 2018 by Robyn Powell

“The Department of Justice recently moved to withdraw rules related to the accessibility of medical equipment and furniture.”

After describing the many successes of the ADA, the article states:  “Yet despite these important successes, people with disabilities continue to experience substantial health disparities. ”

Read the entire article below.  And make sure you are ready to vote in the September  primaries and in November!  And we encourage you to contact your congressional representative and both of our senators in Washington.  We cannot afford to reverse these hard-won gains!

The Trump Administration May Have Made It Even Harder for People With Disabilities to Access Health Care

AAPD has a new Candidate Questionnaire Template 2018 (PDF).

From 2016:  I contend that the answers by Donald Trump were predictive of his performance todate on disability issues!  You can see the 2016 Presidential questions and answers at www.aapd.com.

We love the new website, ideas and toolkits from Nonprofit Vote. Visit their website at www.nonprofitvote.org. They focus on all voters, from the perspective of nonprofit organizations. Their templates (www.nonprofitvote.org/resource-library/making-plan/) for Making a Voter Engagement Plan, and 2018 Voter Engagement Timeline are a great place to start.

Update April 26

Citing insufficient funds, Seti Warren has dropped out of the governor’s race, leaving two Democratic candidates: Robert Massie and Jay Gonzalez.

Massachusetts Democratic Candidates For Governor Talk Policy In Pittsfield

From WAMC.org – Northeast Public Radio
By Josh Landes – Mar 26, 2018

All three Democratic candidates for governor (running against Governor Charlie Baker) recently participated in a forum in Pittsfield. Read this story and learn more about Robert Massie, Setti Warren and Jay Gonzalez.

If all three are approved at the Democratic State Convention in early June, then all three will be on the primary ballot in the September 4 State Primary. To vote for Democratic candidates in the primary, you must be a registered Democrat or unenrolled. You must have registered to vote by August 15.

from The Daily Kos, by Chris Reeves, published Wednesday, March 14, 2018

“…One item that won’t get enough praise, though, will be the efforts by the Pennsylvania Democratic State Party, as well as local organizations and the campaign to mobilize and turnout voters to the polls, especially voters with disabilities — because in the end, more important than any other item, is taking voters who believe in your cause and changing them from believers sitting at home, to believers who vote.

It is time to talk about why state efforts on this front are sometimes wildly underappreciated, but why their impact matters….”

Read the entire article at www.dailykos.com.

This guide, by the National Council on Independent Living, lists all of the legislative priorities related to Independent Living.  The number and scope of these priorities is formidable.  The guide will advise you on important issues that you can alert your legislators about.  If you don’t like their responses, take action at the polls!

View the entire NCIL Legislative Advocacy Priorities Guide Spring 2018.

From RespectAbility.org

Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2018 – A new national phone poll of registered voters shows the size, scope, and varied nature of the disability community in the United States. Fully 63 percent of American voters are in the extended disability community — people with disabilities, a family member with a disability, a close friend with a disability, work on behalf of people with disabilities, or volunteer for disability causes.

Click Here to read the entire poll – lots of important data!  2018 will be an important year for disability issues.

Being Nonpartisan: Voter Engagement Dos and Don’ts for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits

From NonProfitVote.org

Thursday, March 8, 2018 – 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST

Register Online

If you’re new to voter engagement work, you may have questions about what your organization is permitted to do as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The answer is a lot, as long as you do it on a nonpartisan basis. In this webinar, participants will discuss how to ensure that your nonprofit remains nonpartisan while engaging clients, consumers, staff, and constituents around voting and elections. The webinar includes explanations of IRS rules, do’s and don’t’s for nonprofits, and more.

If you can’t “attend” the webinar, it will be available online afterwards.  Browse the website for other valuable webinars.

Did you get our email about an Opportunity to Test the Voting Process for People with Disabilities at Perkins? (see below)  We have new information!  The Testing Schedule has been released!  Perkins is still searching for testers with low vision or mobility limitations, especially those who could test a sip and puff or switch control device.  And they are offering a $25.00 Amazon gift card to all volunteers that complete the testing module, as an incentive.  If you are interested, and/or have questions, please contact Akira Fujita, Accessibility Consultant, at akira.fujita@perkins.org or (617) 972-7804.

• Friday, April 6th (Non-Disabled, Non-native English) Location: Perkins Campus :  10 AM – 4 PM
• Monday, April 9th (Mobility) Location: (TBD):   10 AM – 4 PM
• Wednesday, April 11th (Low Vision and Blind) Location: Perkins Campus:  10 AM – 4 PM

Email sent out February 7, 2018:

The Perkins School for the Blind will be testing voting tools to determine the level of accessiblity and to provide feedback in regards to the user experience.  To help with this endeavor, Perkins is looking for individuals who could participate in the roles of poll work or tester.

Perkins will be creating the environment of a “mock election” and going through the voting process as if it were a real election.

This project will take place on the Perkins Campus in Watertown, MA, probably the last week of March or the first week of April.

If you are interested, and/or have questions, please contact Akira Fujita, Accessibility Consultant, at akira.fujita@perkins.org or (617) 972-7804.

As accessibility remains a major barrier to voting for people with disabilities, we strongly encourage you to consider getting involved in this effort!