Content note: this email talks about people with disabilities dying in institutions. 

People with disabilities in institutions were already facing abuse, neglect, and life-threatening disease outbreaks behind closed doors. Then the COVID-19 pandemic started. Now, over a million people with disabilities face the possibility of being trapped in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak with no way to escape. Over ten thousand of our institutionalized community members have died, and over fifty thousand have gotten sick with COVID-19. It’s critical that we understand how many people we are losing as COVID-19 spreads through institutions — but some states aren’t reporting numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths in congregate settings, and the federal government isn’t keeping track. We made the COVID-19 case tracker to do what no one else is doing: to document and draw attention to infections and deaths in institutions across the U.S.

The COVID-19 case tracker gathers publicly available information, such as newspaper articles and local government reports, to keep track of how many people with disabilities have contracted, or died of, COVID-19 in congregate settings. We look at nursing homes, institutions for people with developmental disabilities, psychiatric hospitals, group homes, and other institutions. The tracker includes both nation-wide and state-specific numbers, and is regularly updated as new information becomes available. Visitors can also access our data for information on specific cases and outbreaks. You can also help us by using our tool to report outbreaks in congregate settings. 

By documenting the reality of COVID-19 in congregate settings, we can better advocate for the changes necessary to save lives. We hope that you take the data from this tool and use it to fight for changes in your state and local communities. Institutions have always been deadly. Together, we will continue to fight to make sure that all of us have what we need to make it through this pandemic — and to live and thrive in our communities, where we belong.