by Elise

Asian-American disability rights activist Alice Wong directs her memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, particularly to Asian-American women and girls, exposing some of the harmful myths in their cultures about disability, and encourages them to be themselves and to keep finding their way. Wong writes about her life, and thoughts about activism, access, culture, telling stories, the COVID pandemic and the future. In 2013, then-President Obama appointed Ms. Wong to the National Council on Disability. In 2014, Wong founded the Disability Visibility Project, a space where the disabled can discuss, ask questions, submit art, share resources and events, which includes the Disability Visibility Podcast.

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In Poland, caregivers of children with disabilities, including family members, called for the right to work part-time jobs while keeping the stipends which are no longer enough to live on with high inflation.  “Let us live” and “Work is a human right” were among the signs protesters carried in front of the Presidential Palace.

Incorrectly concerned about the burden those demands would put on the government budget, a deputy of family and social policy said that one solution would be reducing caregivers’ stipend by two zloty for every four zloty caregivers earn through work.

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            Under California’s recently enacted CARE Courts Act, individuals with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders can get treatment, housing and other support services via court-ordered care plans for up to a year, with the possibility of an extension. But behavioral health professionals worry that, in a mental healthcare system that is already under strain and underfunded, too many will not receive those services. For example, many CARE Court services are not Medi-Cal eligible. Involuntary treatment is also a concern when mental healthcare professionals or family members can petition the CARE Courts to take charge of individuals. The ACLU and Human Rights Watch protested apparent human rights violations in the CARE Court Act before it became law. The U.S. has the financial resources to take care of the mentally ill but most of its lawmakers don’t have the guts to make laws to use the funds.