Each year, the U.S. observes National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central & South America.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary
California Department of Health and Human Services
1900 9th Street, Suite 490
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Secretary Ghaly:

Thank you for everything you have done throughout this pandemic to listen to and respond to disability community priorities. I am personally grateful for your leadership and working with you has been one of the highlights of my first 18 months as the executive director of Disability Rights California (DRC).

On September 14, 2021 there will be a statewide recall election.

Learn more about the recall election and what to expect to see on the ballot.

Click here to read more: 
California Recall Election Fact Sheet

Original article published in The Daily Journal

Author: Shannon Cogan and Anne Hadreas

Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine?  Need a COVID-19 test?  Want a free vaccine? Come to a free COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic sponsored by Escuela de la Raza Unida Inc and the Palo Verde Unified School District with support from Disability Rights California and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. 

Original article published in The Sacramento Bee 

Author: Leslie Naper

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are so proud to be able to share this video with you! You will hear stories often left out of mainstream society.  We capture and celebrate voices from across disability and across intersectional AAPI communities, as we share our struggles and our triumphs, and affirm through it, that we will be “Invisible No More!”

Governor Newsom released his “May Revision” to the 2021-22 proposed budget on May 14, 2021 (link to full budget summary). The revised budget proposal is constructed around the projected revenue and deficits in the current year and the 2021-22 budget year. The May Revision stands in stark contrast to the budget of one year ago. Compared to a projected budget deficit of $54 billion last year, the state now has a projected $75.7 billion surplus.

The undersigned organizations issued the following statement on the 1-year anniversary of the death of Mr. Choung Woong Ahn, who died while in the custody of a private, for-profit immigration detention center:

“Today we celebrate the life of Choung Woong Ahn, and mourn its loss as the Earth completes one revolution around the sun since his passing. Mr. Ahn was a 74-year-old South Korean immigrant who died locked inside the Mesa Verde ICE Detention Center, owned and operated by The GEO Group, Inc., on May 17, 2020.

May is annually celebrated as Mental Health Awareness Month to bring awareness to the importance of mental health and break the stigma. Far too often, people with mental health disabilities keep their struggles to themselves for fear of being treated differently. But the fact is, mental health issues are common—About 1 in 4 adults have one, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

More than a year into the worst pandemic in more than a century, COVID-19 has taken on a toll on nearly everyone. In addition to economic insecurity and mounting deaths and hospitalizations, the coronavirus has caused devasting effects to our mental health.