It is Developmental Disability Awareness Month, and groups are spotlighting housing and voting as two major areas of concern. To mark International Women s Day, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities held a virtual event Tuesday. Tameka Citchen-Spruce, a disability justice advocate and former Ms. .
Experts say Missouri ranks low among states when it comes to steps it has taken to improve accessibility in voting. Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which has a disability-rights committee, said people with disabilities face barriers at all stages of the voting process, from registering to vote to casting a ballot and having their ballot counted. She pointed out for many people with disabilities, casting their vote independently is really important, and there should be accessible options both in-person and absentee. .
More than 3.7 million people with disabilities live in New York, according to the federal government, and they just got a new advocate in the governor s office. Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed Kimberly Hill as the state s first Chief Disability Officer to advance and advocate policies to support New Yorkers with disabilities. .
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has led to the greatest spike of the virus in Montana since the start of the pandemic. While some might consider getting the virus inevitable when cases are so high, it still has more dangerous consequences for certain populations. People who have compromised immune systems - such as people receiving treatment for cancer, recent organ-transplant recipients or those with rare disorders - still have a higher risk of severe reaction to COVID-19. .