For Disability Advocacy, Student Goes to Washington.
While House Republicans were trying to whip together the votes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), MPH student Jessica Christian was also in Washington, DC.
The Disability Policy Seminar, a three-day conference culminating with more than 900 advocates meeting with legislators, seemed particularly urgent this year, says Christian, who attended the conference as a LEND Fellow through the SPH Maternal and Child Health Center for Excellence.
“The potential repeal of the ACA included massive cuts to Medicaid—the source of services for the majority of disabled people,” she says. “Cuts would wreak havoc.”
As part of her year-long fellowship with LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities), Christian is working with the National Alliance of Mental Illness Criminal Justice Diversion program. The program works to create infrastructure within communities to prevent the incarceration of people with mental illnesses and disabilities.
“The overwhelming majority of incarcerated people are POC [people of color] and disabled or have a mental health issue,” Christian says, “which speaks to the volume of institutionalized segregation and disparity between social groups.” The fellowship has turned her into an advocate for people with disabilities and the way they interact with the criminal justice system, she says.
At the conference in Washington, Christian shared her hopes for law enforcement to improve training for appropriately responding to calls involving people with disabilities or mental illness.
She took the opportunity of the final day of the conference to attend rallies at the House with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Former Vice President Joe Biden, and at the Senate with Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr., Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan, and retired Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. At both rallies, individuals shared their personal stories on the importance of home- and community-based supports and services.
“Hearing their stories helped me feel deeply connected to the potential Medicaid cuts and reminded me of why I need to continue this fight in different parts of my life and career,” Christian says.
While the first attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act failed, Christian says that fight is far from over.
“We can so easily forget disabled people in many arenas, but when it comes to healthcare this is just abominable,” she says. “There’s a deep disconnect between public health and disability issues, and I’ve been using my perspective from each to think critically about how I can bridge the two. There’s a lot of work to be done.”