Level Up Your Advocacy with an Educational Opportunity:

1. Apply to participate in a civic engagement course with the City of Boston! Are you a Boston resident interested in learning more ways to advocate for your communities within local government? The Disability Policy Consortium is partnering with the City of Boston Disabilities Commission for the Accessible Boston Leadership & Empowerment (ABLE) Lab program.

• Dates: The course will be six sessions from May 12th through June 23rd.
• Location: Most sessions will take place at Boston City Hall and run from 5:30 – 7:00pm.
• Stipend: Participants who attend a majority of sessions will receive a stipend of $250. 

Please fill out the registration form before the end of April to apply. If you need disability accommodations or language translation in order to participate, please email [email protected] or call (617) 635-4997.

2. Apply to be a LEND Fellow at the E.K. Shriver Center/UMass Chan Medical School! This program provides Fellows with the knowledge and skills needed to drive meaningful change within institutions, organizations, and communities. LEND coursework can be credited towards a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Suffolk University at reduced tuition. Apply here.

TAKE ACTION!

1. Prevent cuts to the MassHealth PCA program! Use this link, prepared by 1199 SEIU to send a message to your legislators and then join one of 1199SEIU’s Homecare Community Forums to tell legislators why PCA services are so vitally important.
   1. Worcester, March 24, 5:30, IBEW, 242 Mill Street, Worcester 
   2. Lawrence, April 6, 5:00, Public Library, 51 Lawrence St., Lawrence
   3. Boston, April 7, 5:00, Grove Hall Public Library, 41 Geneva Ave., Dorchester 
   4. New Bedford, April 9, 5:00, Labor Council, 560 Pleasant St., New Bedford 
   5. Springfield, April 9, 5:30, PVP Church, 45 Maple Str., Springfield 
   6. Brockton – date and time to be determined 
2. Help to push through wheelchair repair reform! Contact your legislators and ask them to send letters of support to the Ways and Means Committees for S. 2662 and H.4358. Find your legislator here. Want to stay in the loop on the Wheelchair Repair Campaign? Sign up here. 
3. Protect Health Care Equity! With the House voting deadline extended to June 15, DPC advocates are shifting their focus to the Senate version of the healthcare anti-discrimination bill (S.869). Help keep the momentum by asking the Senate Ways & Means Committee to move this bill forward and ensure equitable care for all.
4. Urge your Senators to vote ‘no’ on the SAVE America Act! The SAVE America Act would add new proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting, creating added barriers for people with disabilities – particularly for mail voting. Read the full statement from the American Association of People with Disabilities and click here to send a letter to your Senator. 
5. Section 504 – the nation’s first federal disability civil rights law – is once again at risk. Learn what’s happening and why it matters.

Studies & Surveys:

Surveys from other organizations:

1. Massachusetts Office of Fair Housing needs to hear from people with disabilities! The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has an online survey to share your challenges with fair housing in your region. Please complete the anonymous survey ASAP.
2. Help improve the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC) resources and services! Participation is open to individuals with these injuries, caregivers, clinicians, and state or federal program administrators. Take the survey here. 

Events:

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