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Hearing loss not considered a disability?


Petitioning Maria Town

URGENT: Demand Hearing Loss to be Acknowledged as a Disability
Petition by Hearing Health Foundation
3,627
Supporters

Recently, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) learned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study on the prevalence of disability in the U.S. The study examined vision loss, cognition, mobility, self-care and independent living, but failed to mention hearing loss, the third most common public health concern after diabetes and heart disease.

When asked about the exclusion, the CDC had the following response: “We would have loved to include data on people with hearing loss. The report is based on the BRFSS, which is a telephone survey that doesn’t reach people with hearing loss.” Whatever their reason may be, this oversight demands immediate attention and correction. On behalf of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss, we request that the CDC rethink their methodology of data collection and re-conduct the survey in a more accommodating manner.

HHF is outraged by this gross oversight and finds the exclusion of people living with hearing loss from the report to be a troubling concern. Failure to include hearing loss diminishes the fact that it warrants attention and treatment, as well as neglects to recognize its impact on a person’s quality of life, interactions in school, and ability to work. It also undervalues the effects it can have on one’s health, including but not limited to the increased risk of falls, dementia, and depression. But worst of all, this omission gives the public the excuse to discount hearing loss as a disability; to believe there is no need to protect hearing; and to lack empathy for and fail to accommodate those with hearing loss.  

HHF is not sitting back quietly, and neither should you! If you would like to take action with HHF, please sign the petition below. You can also download this letter, sign and return it to us by e-mail or mail (Take Action, c/o Hearing Health Foundation, 363 7th Ave, NY, NY, 10001).

Please forward this message to your friends, families and colleagues and encourage them to take action!
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Suffocating Refugees and Illegal Migrants Avalanche Heading Croatia’s Way

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inavukic's avatarCroatia, the War, and the Future

Refugees and illegal migrants making their way from Greece to Macedonia to continue into EU Photo: AP Photos/ Sakis Mitrolidis Refugees and illegal migrants making their
way from Greece to Macedonia
to continue into EU
Photo: AP Photos/ Sakis Mitrolidis

Countless thousands of refugees and illegal migrants from war-torn Syria, Iraq and other Middle East territory, Africa… are reaching Europe via Greece and Italy as points of entry in particular. According to interviews published on all world’s media all those coming from Greece across Macedonia and Serbia and Hungary are intent on making it to Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom… they know where they want to go and expect to succeed in it, trampling over and destabilising European countries they cross towards their desired destination.

Refugees and illegal migrants of today appear to have expectations that they will reach their desired destination and stay there. How very different from the refugees fleeing WWII Europe – most were happy to wait in refugee camps and go to a country offered…

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2015: Turning Promises into Action


Last year, we exposed the snack food industry’s dirty little secret – Conflict Palm Oil.

A groundswell of activism created a watershed moment, and made Snack Food 20 companies and the world’s largest agribusiness trading companies – including Cargill — “re-think” business-as-usual.

PALM oil action!

Our challenge now lies in transforming company commitments into real change for the forests and communities that depend on them and bringing laggards in the sector along with us.

This change won’t happen overnight, and it won’t be easy. One thing is certain, we must draw lines in the sand and we need you to stand strong with us.

Are you in?

  • We will counter the greenwash that is being rolled out by companies whose commitments on ending deforestation and social conflict fall short.
  • We will crank up the pressure on palm oil growers, traders and Snack Food 20 companies who have so far refused to strengthen their policies and practices.
  • We will stand with the community of Collingwood Bay in Papua New Guinea and stop companies like Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) from threatening to destroy pristine rainforests and undermining the right of the Collingwood Bay people to say no to palm oil development on their lands.
  • We will stop bulldozers from destroying rainforests and peatlands in the Leuser Ecosystem – home to the Sumatran rhino, orangutan, elephant, tiger and sunbear.

The inspiring breakthroughs we achieved in 2014 are a testament to actions YOU have taken and the unrelenting work of local communities and NGOs over many years. These successes, almost unimaginable just a few years ago, provide a great example of how our movement can successfully take on seemingly insurmountable odds. We must now continue to build momentum as we drive the real change still needed on the ground.

We need you to stand with us in 2015 as we hold some of the world’s biggest corporations to account.

We have an exciting series of activities planned that will inspire you to take bold action in your community. Join our Palm Oil Action Team today and get your friends and family to do the same.

Sign up here to make lasting change in 2015!

In strength,

GemmaTillack_Headshot_crop.jpg

Gemma Tillack

Agribusiness Campaign Director

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Lydia Cacho with Avaaz


Mexican photojournalist Rubén Espinosa was just found tortured and murdered. One of Latin America’s oldest democracies is now one of the most dangerous places on the planet to report the truth. Add your voice to a powerful open letter demanding an end to violence against journalists doing their jobs! When enough of us join Avaaz will publish it on the front page of key Mexican media:

SIgn now
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Back-to-School Food Safety Tips


FoodSafety.govBy Marianne Gravely, Food Safety Technical Information Specialist, Food Safety & Inspection Service, USDA

Back to school, back to the books, back in the saddle or back in the car for all the parents. The new school year means it’s back to packing lunches and after-school snacks for students, scouts, athletes, dancers, and all the other children who carry these items to and from home.

One ‘back’ you do not want to reacquaint children with, however, is Bacteria.

Read our latest blog for tips on how to keep bacteria from the cafeteria by safely packing and storing school lunches and snacks.

 

 

 Infographic on School Food Safety Tips

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