Episode 3: We Will Not Be Erased: The Fight for Disability Justice in the HHS Budget

🎙️ In this urgent episode of Breaking Barriers with Angel Heaven Lee, we sound the alarm on a leaked federal budget proposal from the ⁠U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that threatens to gut critical disability programs under the Administration for Community Living (ACL)⁠.

On March 27th, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made a quiet but powerful announcement: they plan to dismantle the Administration for Community Living, also known as the ACL.

This isn’t just a bureaucratic shift. This is a direct threat to millions of disabled people, older adults, and the very foundation of independent living in America.

From independent living services to developmental disability supports, protection and advocacy efforts, caregiver programs, and more, this proposal puts our freedom, dignity, and right to live in our communities at risk.

In this episode, Angel breaks down what’s at stake, why this fight echoes the legacy of the 1977 504 Sit-In, and how you can rise up, speak out, and protect the programs that disabled people and families across this country depend on every day.

Their plan proposes to eliminate the ACL and split its functions into three separate agencies. They also plan to:

• Merge the Office for Civil Rights—which enforces disability rights—into an agency focused on “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

• Cut and consolidate SAMHSA, the agency responsible for mental health and substance use treatment.

This is not just about funding. It’s about civil rights. It’s about survival. And we will not go quietly.

📬 Use this quick and accessible link to email your reps:

👉⁠https://ablesouthcarolina.salsalabs.org/aclthreatmarch2025/index.html⁠

You can also check out the Administration for Community Living’s advocacy toolkit for talking points, templates, and helpful tools.

🛑 Take action now: ⁠https://action.thearc.org⁠

📣 Hashtags: #WeWillNotBeErased #DisabilityJustice #FundIndependentLiving #StopTheCuts

Tell them:

“Reject any budget that cuts or weakens ACL programs. These are not political luxuries—these are the supports that allow me, my family, and my community to live with dignity and independence.”

So, whether you’re disabled, a caregiver, a veteran, or someone who just believes in justice:

1. Contact your legislators. Tell them to oppose the dismantling of the ACL. They need to hear from real people.

2. Support organizations who are pushing back.

3. Share your story. Post on social media, write a letter, call your representatives—let them know what these services mean to you or your community.

4. Demand oversight hearings. Congress has the power to stop this. Hold them accountable.

5. Vote like your life depends on it—because for some of us, it really does.