In 1981, Congress amended the Social Security Act to help millions of disabled people and older adults move out of institutions. Through home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers, some 7 million Medicaid recipients now receive support that lets them stay in their communities. But after years of neglect under both parties, experts fear that sweeping cuts to both Medicaid and FEMA—especially under the GOP’s most recent budget bill—may be the final straw for the often small, privatized, and...

During the power outage following the winter storms of 2021—known in Texas as Winter Storm Uri—Rita, an Indigenous woman who lives with severe mental illness and congestive heart failure, tried with her then-partner to stay warm in brutal conditions in a tent on the streets of Austin with camp stoves and a propane heater. They survived, but at least six unhoused people did not. In her new book Disabled Power, University of Texas at El Paso professor Angela Frederick details the challenges that...

When a man with painful cystic acne came to dermatologist Eva Rawlings Parker for help in a Nashville clinic, she couldn’t prescribe him doxycycline or minocycline, two medications she’d typically use to treat this condition. This is because the man was a roofer, says Parker, and these medications would have impacted his ability to tolerate heat.

During the 1960s, disability activists fought for the right to live independently, rather than in institutions like nursing homes. That led to the first Center for Independent Living: a hub serving and largely run by people with disabilities, established in Berkeley, California, in 1972—now one of 403 locations across the country. CILs help disabled people live at home who might otherwise have been institutionalized, in part by connecting them with resources like state programs to fund home care

For the past few decades, Lisa Craig Gautier and her team at San Francisco-based nonprofit Matter of Trust have used mats made out of human and animal hair to help clean beaches and bodies of water. But, more recently, they have expanded to a new project: using hair mats to help restore grassland in a local park, the Presidio.

Sarah Chavera Edwards and her family adopted a cat over a year ago from a shelter in Arizona. While the cat, named Houdini, now trusts Chavera Edwards and her family, he still sometimes scratches and gets scared easily. “We love him anyway and celebrate his slow progress,” says Chavera Edward. “He’ll never be a super affectionate lap cat, but he’s funny, fierce and independent.” Before and during COVID-19, cats and their quirky, misbehaving ways brought joy to their owners’ lives. In fact, a s