Election day is just 7 days away! Elections can impact so many important issues for people with disabilities – it is critical that everyone makes their opinion count. Use the sample social media posts and graphic below to encourage your networks to get out and vote. Please contact Claire Manning, director of Advocacy and Mobilization with any questions.

Sample Posts:

• Today is Election day – and every vote matters! Not sure where your polling place is? Visit vote.org
• Are you ready to vote TODAY? Post a selfie below with your #IVoted sticker!
• It’s Election day! If you have any problems at the polls call 1-866-OUR- VOTE. Share to spread the word.

Sample Graphic (contact katz@thearc.org for a high-resolution file) 

 

 

 

 

 

Written in partnership with:

What is the Public Charge rule?

On October 10, the Department of Homeland Security announced the “public charge” rule. This rule allows the U.S. to keep out people who may become a “public charge.” Someone is called a “public charge” if the government thinks you might depend on government benefits to meet your needs. Someone who is called a “public charge” will be discriminated against if they try to enter the U.S. (get a visa) or get a green card (become a permanent resident).

The proposed rule is unfair, dangerous, and blatantly discriminatory. The rule would exclude people from this country simply because they have a disability.

The U.S. has already had a public charge rule for a long time. The new rule will make things much worse. Under the old rule, someone was only considered a public charge if they used cash benefits, like social security or TANF, or if they lived in an institution. The new rule uses a much bigger list of programs and benefits, and it also looks at other things like someone’s health and income.

The Rule Discourages the Use of Important Programs and Benefits

The new rule will discourage families from using important services for fear of harming their immigration status. People with disabilities and our families often need to use government benefits in order to stay fed, housed, and healthy. Under the new rule, using–or even just applying for–these benefits will count against us. Some of the programs and benefits that will count against us under this new rule are:

• Medicaid
• Food stamps, or SNAP
• Medicare Part D assistance
• Section 8 housing assistance
• Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP (they are still deciding whether to include this program)

In addition, the rule will also look at someone’s income. If someone or their family is lowincome, that will count against them.

The Rule is An Attack on Medicaid

The public charge rule is another attack on the basic services people with disabilities receive through Medicaid. The new rule includes the Medicaid-funded services that help people with disabilities stay in our homes, work, go to school, and live in our communities. These services are sometimes called waiver services, personal care services, nursing services, respite, intensive mental health services, and employment supports.

This creates an unfair choice for people with disabilities and our families. Medicaid is the only source for community living supports for people with disabilities. Community services simply aren’t available under private insurance. This rule will force immigrant families to choose between surviving without needed community services or being denied entry into this country just because their family member has a disability and might need services.

The Rule Discriminates Against People with Disabilities

The proposed rule directly discriminates against people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. In addition to benefits, the rule looks at a person’s health to decide if they will become a public charge. If someone has certain medical conditions, that counts against them. If someone doesn’t have a medical condition or a disability, the rule says that is a “positive factor.” This is unfair and discriminatory to people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.

The rule specially calls out people with the “most expensive health conditions,” including:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Trauma
• Mental health conditions

The rule also looks at whether or not a person can obtain private health insurance to pay for the medical costs the government thinks they will have because of their chronic health condition or disability. If someone doesn’t have health insurance, that counts against them. But because many important community services are only available through Medicaid and are not covered by private insurance, many people with disabilities won’t pass this test.

In other words, the proposed rule would exclude people with disabilities simply because they have a disability.

The Rule Isn’t Final Yet

If the new rule is put into practice, it will hurt many immigrants and immigrant families, including people with disabilities. But there is still time. For the next 60 days, the Department of Homeland Security is taking comments on the rule. Anyone can comment on the rule, and the government is required to read and respond to the comments. It is critical that the disability community sends in as many comments as possible explaining why this rule is dangerous and discriminatory and why it should not be put into practice. If we all speak up, we can keep this rule from being implemented.

For more information, please visit https://medicaid.publicrep.org/feature/public-charge/ and https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/. These websites include information and resources on how to comment.

For more information on this and other topics, visit

• www.thearc.org
• ASAN: autisticadvocacy.org
• CPR: centerforpublicrep.org

The Arc hosts a planned giving workgroup for chapters that enroll in the Gift Legacy™ or Gift Charity™ programs offered by Crescendo. The Arc’s partnership with Cresendo offers significant services to support a high-level any size planned giving program. In addition, members of the workgroup receive a significant discount. Want to learn more? Contact Laura Rahman Director, Individual Philanthropy (rahman@thearc.org) for group discount and benefit information.

The Arc of Loudoun and its Executive Director Lisa Kimball sure do know how to get in the Halloween spirit.

SHOCKTOBER, Northern Virginia’s only REAL haunted house experience, has been a destination event for almost a decade. The signature fundraising event has become so successful that last year, it accounted for almost 50% of the chapter’s fundraising budget. SHOCKTOBER is recognized as one of the best haunted houses in the DC/MD/VA area, and has provided an opportunity to build strong community partnerships, give back to the community, and more.

Fundraising is essential for any chapter of The Arc. Can you tell us a little about your chapter’s fundraising success? Do you find more success with individual giving in your region, or signature events like the Shocktober fundraiser?

As is the case for any nonprofit, fundraising is essential to our success, enabling us to fulfill our mission to empower, embrace, and engage adults and children with disabilities and their families. Our signature fundraisers include traditional fare. Our hallmark fundraising event, however, is very much off-the-beaten-path. We have a haunted house on our campus – not just the usual run-of-the-mill haunted house, but a 150-year old historical mansion that’s transformed into a thoroughly professional, PG-13-level haunt that requires guests to sign waivers before beginning their tours!

From a first-year gross revenue of about $40k (which absolutely thrilled us), we’ve grown to 2017’s 12,000 guests and more than $400k in gross revenue – which equated to almost 50% of our fundraising budget for last year. The exponential growth can be attributed to the expertise and detail that goes into each year’s haunt. SHOCKTOBER is recognized as one of the best haunted houses in the D-M-V, and we welcome haunt aficionados from all over the country and, occasionally, from other countries as well.

Can you give us a little history of the success of this event and other fundraising endeavors for your chapter?

SHOCKTOBER, Northern Virginia’s only REAL haunted house experience, has been a destination event for almost a decade.

SHOCKTOBER has matured into a destination event that includes a carnival atmosphere complete with t-shirts, fun merchandise, line entertainment, food and drinks all available on site (“liquid courage” can be found in the beer and wine tent!). New this year, in conjunction with our beloved community partners – 16 of them our ‘top-tier’ supporters – we’ve launched the “Trail of Terror”, a 3-day guide through Loudoun County to experience breweries, wineries, restaurants, and places to stay, all with a haunted twist.

How are you using this fundraiser/other events like it to build awareness and partnerships within your community?

All of this is made successful through our partnerships with multiple state and local tourism-centered organizations. Visit Loudoun, Loudoun County Tourism, and the Commonwealth of Virginia are all committed to supporting The Arc of Loudoun’s mission by granting advertising dollars to support SHOCKTOBER marketing efforts, spreading the word during meetings around the County to increase awareness of The Arc of Loudoun’s service offerings, and by “walking the talk” of embracing our community’s I/DD members. Each year the Town of Leesburg and the Loudoun County government eagerly participate in SHOCKTOBER; the Mayor of Leesburg looks forward each season to kicking off the event with an official ribbon ‘slashing’.

How does this particular event highlight the mission of The Arc of Loudoun and involve leaders throughout your network, including people with I/DD?

SHOCKTOBER is not just an exceptional fundraising extravaganza; it’s also an opportunity for The Arc of Loudoun to give back to our community. We award five $1k grants to fellow Loudoun County nonprofits whose missions include support for people with I/DD through our annual “We Scare Because We Care” campaign. Additionally, just as our supporters bring their money, time and talent to The Arc, The Arc gives back to our volunteers by providing outstanding educational and social opportunities for area high school students, most of whom return year after year to volunteer. Several of our volunteers (actors as well as those in concession and ticket sales positions) are people with intellectual, developmental and/or physical disabilities, and the five weeks of SHOCKTOBER at The Arc of Loudoun offer a unique experience where everyone is accepted and embraced for exactly who they are and honored for what they bring to the event.