Dear friends,

As #WeActAugust winds down, we wanted to thank you for choosing to take action and fight for disabled folks’ right to participate fully and safely in the community. You’ve done great work making sure our community’s voice is heard. Going forward, we will keep you updated on each of the Action August issues as things develop. Meanwhile, there’s still time to take part! You can get involved with all of our Action August advocacy just by sending emails with online tools —  no phone call required! Whether you take action on all of these important issues, or just pick one to get started with, you’re making a difference by speaking out. We’re stronger when we advocate together! 

We’re also stronger when we take steps to protect each other. Over 200 million people in the US have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine! If you need more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, you can check out our COVID-19 vaccine fact sheets and videos here. They’re available in English and Spanish, and are in plain language so that everyone can understand this important information. Then, find a vaccination location near you!

We’re excited to share a guest blog post from Sandy Ho about racism as a public health issue. Sandy explains how “the systemic racism and ableism that pervades public health systems is a direct valuing of the lives of disabled people of color. Too often, questions like who gets to live, who gets to have access to quality care, or who is subjected to ableist biases are the questions that drive public health strategies.” Her blog post is a call to action for the field of public health  —  check it out on the ASAN blog!

This month, we also urged our community members to take a stand for the Equality Act. LGBTQ+ folks in nearly 30 states lack critical anti-discrimination protections. Autistic people are more likely to be LGBTQ+ —  this lack of protections puts our community members at risk. Congress has the power to pass the Equality Act, a landmark piece of legislation that would give long-awaited protections to folks across the country. You can help by contacting your Senators and letting them know it’s time to pass the Equality Act. 

As we wrap up Action August, we are reminded that when we advocate together, we can change policy — and people’s lives — for the better. We’re honored to advocate alongside all of you all year round.

With gratitude,

The team at ASAN