This post uses identity-first language to refer to disabled people, following guidance to use the phrasing that many people who have lived experience commonly use to refer to themselves as a group. Some members of disabled communities also continue to prefer person-first language. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Disability Pride Month is in July, the same month the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed in 1990. In March of that year, wheelchair users and other disabled people were arrested in D.C. for peacefully protesting in support of the ADA. In another unfortunate repetition of history, on June 25th this year, another group of disabled people, including wheelchair users, were once again arrested by Capitol police for peacefully protesting against the defunding of Medicaid and the passing of H.R.1.

Normally for months that celebrate marginalized groups, I donate a percentage of the net profit for that month to local and national non-profit organizations serving (and preferably led by) marginalized people from those groups. However, in addition to the many other deleterious consequences of H.R.1, some of which we are already seeing, within the next 2 years, millions of disabled people will lose their health insurance. With it, they will also lose their access to medical care, affordable prescriptions, and necessary accommodations, a gap nonprofit organizations will not be able to cover, especially since this bill also cuts funding for many of them.

Much of the propaganda around defunding aid for disabled people relies on fundamental misunderstandings about federal aid and about the many intersections of disability. Disability is a sweeping category that includes multiple mental and physical disabilities, some of which are visible, some of which are not, many of which are layered and impact each other in compounding ways. Disabilities do not always follow a linear progression, and affect different people in different aspects (and often, they may affect the same people in different aspects and intensities from day to day). More than 1 in 4 Americans of all ages (and more than 1 in 10 working-age American adults) are disabled. And despite common misapprehensions, many people who are too disabled to work already cannot qualify for federal disability assistance.

Many disabled people who do qualify for federal aid often find that its existing requirements and restrictions already trap them and their families in bureaucratically-designated cycles of poverty that leave them unable to budget for unexpected expenses, save money for education or work training, or afford care or transportation. "Work requirements" will further harm those without access to reliable transportation or who are unable to work because of their disabilities but do not qualify for SSDI or SSI, such as married disabled couples. The restrictions and time-intensive additional paperwork and administrative overhead for verification also harm disabled people who can and do work but still need government benefits for such things as accessibility/mobility devices, accommodations to allow them to continue working, and other survival needs.

So this month, I'm instead encouraging you to find and contribute to mutual aid needs for disabled people in your local community. Not only will this help people more directly, it also helps us build networks of mutual care that we will need in the difficult years ahead of us and fight the distance and isolation that eugenicist policies are trying to manufacture. Not sure where to start? You can check out or start your local mask bloc to help protect people from conditions that can exacerbate their existing disabilities, or look up volunteer opportunities and trainings offered by your locality in places such as local websites, libraries, or schools. You can also learn more about making your workplace or projects more accessible or using accessible features in your social media posts. And of course, you can listen to the disabled people in your life directly; there are more of us than you think.

Sensitivity reading for this piece was provided by Rayne from LunarRise.