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Last week, we found out that the Senate plans to pass a COVID-19 relief bill without funding for home- and community-based services (read the email below for full details). HCBS is key for so many disabled people to live in the community, in the safety of our own homes rather than nursing homes. This is always critically important, but especially during a pandemic, where COVID-19 is killing people in institutions. 30 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Congress must not break its promise to the disability community. We’re calling on our Senators to demand a COVID-19 package with HCBS funding, and we’re asking you to join us. We also know that the promise of community living for people with disabilities won’t be fully realized until we live free from violence. Making that promise a reality means working to end police violence, which is a daily threat to disabled people of color, especially Black disabled people. For that reason, we’re also asking you to join us in calling for a strengthened Justice in Policing Act. Find call scripts at the links above, and join our Facebook event to let us know how your calls are going! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Over the last few weeks, we’ve been calling on our Senators to protect the disability community and pass a COVID-19 relief bill that includes emergency funding for home- and community-based services (HCBS). Now, we are hearing that the upcoming Senate bill will not include funding for HCBS. This is incredibly dangerous for members of our community who rely on these services to live their daily lives in the safety of their own homes and neighborhoods. Without this funding, many may be forced into institutions, where COVID-19 is spreading uncontrolled. We can’t let this happen. Call and email your Senators to make sure that emergency HCBS funding is included in the next COVID-19 relief package! You can use our script: My name is [your full name], and I am from [city]. I’m [calling/writing] to ask Senator [Name] to make sure that the Senate’s coronavirus relief package includes Medicaid funding for home- and community-based services for people with disabilities. Many people with disabilities rely on home- and community-based services to do things like get dressed, take care of our families, and live safely in our homes. Without emergency funding, agencies that provide these supports are starting to close. People with disabilities risk being forced into institutions, where they would be at much greater risk of catching COVID-19.
We need the Senate to pass a COVID relief package that specifically funds home- and community-based services. This is a matter of life or death for my community. Can I count on the Senator’s support?
Have call anxiety, or wondering what to expect from a call to your elected officials? Check out this guide to making a call to your members of Congress. Unable to speak on a phone call due to a disability? Check out our Proxy Calling System here. Want to help someone else make a call? Consider signing up to be a proxy caller. There is no excuse for excluding home- and community-based services from COVID-19 relief. People with disabilities, like everyone else, deserve to be protected from this incredibly dangerous virus. Keep calling, emailing, and telling your Senators to stop making excuses, protect disabled people, and do their job. Autistic Self Advocacy Network PO Box 66122
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