As I write this, it’s still rainy and cold outside of my window, but I can see tiny yellow buttercups and purple chicory flowers just starting to poke their way out of the frozen ground. Every April, SafeMinds’ board takes a moment to highlight the organization’s upcoming activities and projects. I’m sending you this email to let you know what we’ve been working on, and to ask for your support so that we can continue to make a difference in the everyday lives of people with autism and their families.
Over 80 detectives and hundreds of community volunteers searched for months to find Avonte Oquendo, a 14-year-old boy with autism from New York who bolted from his school when the security guard wasn’t looking. They did not find him in time. Avonte’s tragic death in 2013 broke the heart of the nation. Unfortunately, he is not alone.
In the United States, the co-occurrence of autism and wandering continues to be one of the biggest threats to our children’s health and safety. While one in every 42 boys and 1 in every 189 girls has autism, almost half of the people who have autism wander, leaving trails of despair, heartache, and worry for their families, friends, and loved ones.
Safe minds require safe bodies. We support Avonte’s Law, S. 163, proposed by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), to authorize the Attorney General to make up to $50 million in grants to law enforcement agencies to reduce the risk of injury and death for persons with disabilities relating to wandering, and during interactions with law enforcement.
SafeMinds is collaborating with the National Autism Association (NAA) to gain passage of this bill and help these children and their families. We are using our resources to bring new stakeholders to the table, working with NAA and Senator Schumer’s office to organize a Capitol Hill briefing on autism and wandering, and convening a Night of Remembrance in Washington, D.C., for those lost to wandering over the years. We all need to work together to help keep people with autism safe. No more tragedies—please stand with us.
Though polls across the country confirm that Americans do not believe in mandatory vaccination, elected officials have introduced at least 110 bills in 36 different states to limit vaccine exemptions and try to force parents to vaccinate their children according to the CDC’s current vaccine schedule, leaving no room for individualized medicine or informed consent. SafeMinds stands with those who advocate for parents’ rights to choose about vaccinating their children. In the past year, we have worked hard to bring our readers the most current information about vaccine safety, environmental toxins, and support for families dealing with autism.
We’ve been successful! The educational materials on our website were read by over 110,000 unique visitors, our posts get upwards of 50,000 readers, and we’ve seen a 283 percent increase in the past year in the amount of time readers spend on our site. In the coming year, with your help, we will continue to bring you the most accurate and up-to-date information.
We’re launching a new initiative this year—an online resource that will put a vaccine safety information kit at the fingertips of anyone with an Internet connection. Targeted to parents, grandparents, doctors, elected officials, and members of the media, this vaccine safety information kit will provide a list of questions for new parents to bring to their pediatricians, relevant peer-reviewed scientific studies, and a resource guide on vaccine safety information.
We need your help! We can’t continue our important work without you. We’re hoping you can provide us with a tax-deductible donation of $25, $50, $100, or any amount you can afford today. Please donate today. Any amount will be greatly appreciated and will make a difference. We will use these donations to fund our advocacy work and trips to Washington, D.C., bring you cutting-edge educational materials via our website, and generate new scientific research projects. Your donation is tax-deductible.
As the hills near my house begin blossoming with wildflowers, I find myself filled with new hope for the future. I am so grateful for all of you who support SafeMinds. We CAN improve our Nation’s health, keep our children safe, and make the world a better place for the next generation. We just have to do it together.
Sincerely,
Sallie Bernard
Board President
P.S. Please forward this email to at least three people who you think may also be interested in supporting SafeMinds’ efforts this month. Now is a great time to remind those we love about the extraordinary needs our community faces.
