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As COVID-19 erupts across the country, important Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) programs, such as Money Follows the Person (MFP), are coming to a close. In this dire time, we have the opportunity to make an important change through the HCBS Infrastructure Investment Act, which would provide a one-time investment of federal funding to strengthen states’ ability to improve quality of life for millions of people with disabilities, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, older adults, children and their families through multi-year grants to enhance their HCBS service delivery systems.
Detroit Disability Power is joining Justice for Aging in demanding that Congress provide increased funding for HCBS and permanently authorize the MFP program before it ends this Friday, December 11.
We are demanding support for protections and expansion of HCBS, as it’s critical to fighting COVID-19 in our nursing homes and other communal settings. These efforts support people with disabilities and older adults who stay in their homes, reducing the number of people in congregate settings and ultimately lowering the chance of contracting COVID-19.
Email your member of congress today asking them to support people with disabilities and older adults who are in danger of losing Medicaid home and community-based services programming!
They must:
Fund Home and Community Based Services to meet the emergency needs of people with disabilities living in the community
Invest in systems for home care workers to safely provide care and supports
Expand and strengthen HCBS infrastructure by passing the HCBS Infrastructure Investment Act
Permanently authorize the Money Follows the Person program before it ends this Friday, December 11
Click HERE send letter to a member of congress
Alert!
If you were previously denied SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits in Michigan due to felony drug convictions, you are NOW eligible to receive these benefits! As of October 1, 2020, more Michiganders qualify for SNAP thanks to a recent change granting food, employment and training opportunities for individuals with drug felony convictions. Want to learn more about your eligibility? Click here.
People with disabilities are overrepresented in prisons and jails due to public disinvestment in healthcare and supportive services, discrimination in policing, lack of accessibility and accommodations in the courts, and the criminalization of substance use disorder. This reality, combined with the fact that 40% of SNAP recipients are in families that include an elderly or disabled person, clearly show that food access & criminal justice are critical issues in our community. To learn more about the intersection of criminal justice and disability justice, check out this new fact sheet. DDP is proud to serve as a member of the Hungry 4 Justice coalition, which works together to bring an end to food insecurity in our communities.
Save the Date!
January 17th, 2021 from 2:30pm to 5:30pm: Sunday Solidarity- Building Beloved Community: Start the new year off with your DDP community! DDP and our partners will be co-hosting a virtual event that will inspire you into action. Join us for an afternoon of storytelling, resource sharing, healing, and direct action in honor of our community’s collective work towards justice and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! More info coming soon.
In Love & Struggle,
The DDP Team