This was a busy week for protestors expressing concerns on disability healthcare and economic allowances. Today in Washington, D.C. dozens of protestors voiced objection to the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill during congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. Many protestors, including ones using wheelchairs, were forcibly removed by Capitol Police.
Meanwhile in Israel protestors on Sunday blocked a major highway through Tel Aviv in protest of stagnant disability allowances. Israeli local paper Haaretz is tracking the ongoing story, click here to learn more.
The 3rd annual Invictus Games open tomorrow in Toronto, Canada and will feature some of the toughest athletes with disabilities from around the world. The event was created by Prince Harry of the UK and, according to the events homepage, involves “550 competitors from 17 nations” competing in 12 adaptive sports. ESPN today published a photo story titled “We are Unconquered” by Ioana Moldovan about the Romanian national team building tight friendships as they prepared to physically and mentally to compete.
Photo by Ioana Moldovan/ESPN. Romanian veteran Laurentiu Serban trains for the 2017 Invictus Games.
Melissa Shang is only in 8th grade but she’s already written a highly-rated novel and led an online petition that went viral. The young, talented writer and wheelchair user recently wrote an opinion essay for the New York Times that defends her preference for a positive perspective while writing about characters with disabilities. Check out her essay ‘Stories About Disability Don’t Have to Be Sad’ by clicking here.
The reality TV show ‘Born This Way’ won two Emmys for outstanding casting and cinematography. The show was also recently renewed for a fourth season by cable network A&E. Click here to read the full article by Shaun Heasley on Disability Scoop.
The Social Security Administration faces a growing backlog of applications for disability benefits. Budget cuts have left the agency understaffed and slow to hold hearings with administrative judges responsible for reviewing cases.
Graphic shows number of people awaiting disability hearings and average wait times.
“The average wait for a hearing is 602 days. Five years ago, it was less than a year,” writes reporter Stephen Ohlemacher for the Associated Press/Denver Post. Click here to read his full article.
A group of students with disabilities at the University of Illinois are working to found a ‘cultural house’ where they can build community. The process is in its beginning stages but the founders are hopeful the new community space would create a needed space for students with disabilities to appreciate their culture and organize for more awareness of disability topics. Click here to read the full article by Karen Liu in the student paper The Daily Illini.
A recent research paper by the Ruderman Foundation surveyed employment of actors with disabilities in the TV industry. This article by Deadline Hollywoodbreaks down the numbers and reports which studios lead in diversity.
To read the Ruderman Foundation’s report directly click here.
Officials in Hollywood, Florida have opened multiple criminal investigations into the deaths of 8 nursing home residents who died Wednesday morning from heat exhaustion during an ongoing power outage caused by Hurricane Irma. The New York Times is reporting that “More than three million customers in Florida still lacked power Wednesday, including roughly 160 nursing homes, according to the state’s tracking system.” Hollywood local paper The Sun-Sentinel is reporting 115 other senior residents at the home were evacuated from the overheated facility, but their relatives remain confused about their health status.
Cronkite News, a student-produced news agency based at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, reported on a wrestling festival called “extreme midget wrestling” that is attracting condemnation from the Phoenix chapter of Little People of America. Click here to read the article and watch a web video about the story.
Former British journalist, Patrick Cockburn, and his son Henry Cockburn, co-wrote an op-ed for The Independent candidly describing Henry’s experience with schizophrenia. The article is the first in a 3-part series focusing on how Henry’s mental illness has shaped his career as a professional painter. Click here to read about this father-son story in The Independent.
