Tuesday’s Town Hall was powerful. It was wonderful to have such thoughtful speakers gather to consider the policies that will affect the disability and chronic illness communities the most. This is the time to join together and make a difference. #MEAction will be with you every step of the way!
We’d love for you to view the video here:
A short summary is as follows:
#MEAction Executive Director, Laurie Jones, introduced the speakers that included: Terri Wilder, Kehsi Iman Wilson, AJ Link, Shalida Dobbins, Jaime Selzer, Ben HsuBorger, and Omar Wasow.
Laurie reminded everyone that we all come from different viewpoints but that ME is what unites us all and why we need to continue to fight together for policies that support people with ME and other disabilities.
Terri Wilder, #MEAction Minnesota, spoke of the “numbness effect,” referencing The Shock Doctrine. She said that there are many things being thrown at us and if we act we can get out of the numbness. She referenced the need for hope and collective action.
AJ Link and Kehsi Iman Wilson from New Disabled South spoke about issues affecting the disability community including 504 accommodations, Medicaid, Telehealth, and AJ particularly discussed vulnerable populations that will be affected by the compounding of prejudices and issues facing them. #MEAction has actions on our website about most of these issues that AJ addressed.
Alison Sbrana spoke about her personal experience accessing Medicaid and how important it is for everyone.
Shalida Dobbins and Ben Hsuborger both spoke about community, the importance of volunteers, and the reasons we are all doing this together.
Jaime Seltzer gave an in-depth powerpoint about repercussions of Executive Orders that affect the NIH and CDC. She went over a list of banned words, discussed the funding freezing, the staff that have been fired and research that can currently not be done. She encouraged everyone to visit the #MEAction action page to get involved and she shared a Science Protest happening in March.
During the Q&A, the panelists answered questions about the Safe Act (we are working on a new action), the Research Roadmap (after the new NIH director is confirmed, we will continue our action), and Telehealth (see our actions page).
Omar Wasow closed with a motivational call-to-action. This is an important time to be united
Take action here on issues including Medicaid, Telehealth, 504 Accommodations, Fighting for Science and more! Keep checking back because we will update our actions to respond to the changing climate. There are toolkits and how-to’s through the page as well!
We can only do this work with your support. Please consider giving $25 today to keep us going!
