Dear John, I know how hard it is to keep focused on what’s most important, especially when there is so much happening and changing every day. This year more than most it seems everyone is talking about the very latest political scandal. The latest tweet. The latest outrage coming out of Washington. It’s easy to get distracted. But there is a real danger to all this distraction. We stop paying attention to what’s happening in our own backyards and communities. We lose track of our friends and neighbors. The important things, the really important things, fade into the shadows. I can tell you though that the National Disability Rights Network and the 57 Protection and Advocacy organizations that comprise our network remain vigilant in our fight to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities living in every community in America. We remain laser focused on our work because we know all too well what happens when people with disabilities are ignored and forgotten. In fact, our network was founded after horrible cases of abuse and neglect were uncovered at an institution in New York where young people with disabilities were sent to live…and were forgotten. And if you think those days are behind us, you’re wrong. Over the past year, our network has undertaken a massive nationwide effort to monitor and investigate misuse, abuse, and exploitation by those administering Social Security funds for people with disabilities. In the course of our monitoring, we have found people with disabilities living in squalor and abused by the very people who were supposed to be caring for them. The system did not work for them, but we are. Because if we weren’t paying attention, it is likely this abuse would never stop. And I’ll tell you this. Our network will always pay attention. We will always fight for people with disabilities, especially when no one else will. Our network exists to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, providing advocates and attorneys to literally thousands of people with disabilities in need. No other organization can make this claim. But we can’t do it alone. We need you. If this all feels too overwhelming, then let me break it down to 3 things you can do to help—you can pick one or do all three: I know that your mailbox is jammed packed with requests for support from many worthwhile causes. But what sets our network apart from the rest is our ability to go to the places others can't, to shine a bright light on the shadows, and offer help to the most vulnerable. By supporting our work, you will help make our country a better, safer, more inclusive place for people with disabilities. Please give today. Thank you for everything you have done to support our work this year. Sincerely,  Curt Decker
Executive Director PS - As you make your year-end contributions, I hope you will consider the National Disability Rights Network among them. Remember, your gift to us is tax-deductible. | 
