October 4, 2024 • 48 mins
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation. This episode may contain discussions of political viewpoints that are personal to each guest. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions based on various perspectives.
In this Episode:
What if the key to championing disability rights and political activism lies in the experiences of a 22-year-old trailblazer? Meet Cassidy Huff, a remarkable disability rights activist, actress, and social media influencer. Cassidy’s life is a testament to resilience and passion, having faced 41 spine surgeries and living with Conrad-Hierman syndrome, yet never wavering in her pursuit of the arts. From serenading crowds of 17,000 at just four years old to leading grassroots movements, Cassidy’s story is one of extraordinary grit and inspiration.
Our conversation with Cassidy dives into the critical role of representation in media and politics. She shares her journey from a passionate performer to the executive director of the Disabled Voters for Harris campaign, illustrating the profound impact of disability advocacy in the electoral process. Discover the broader implications of disability rights and how every political decision can affect the disabled community, as Cassidy highlights the urgency of accessible healthcare and anti-discrimination measures.
We also tackle the pressing issue of voting accessibility. Cassidy provides practical advice for ensuring ADA compliance at polling places and empowers listeners with strategies to overcome barriers, whether through curbside voting or early absentee ballot applications. Concluding with a heartfelt discussion on self-acceptance, we celebrate the powerful messages of embracing one's disability and the potential for future leadership that Cassidy embodies. Don’t miss this inspiring and informative episode that highlights both the personal and political aspects of disability advocacy.
- Learn more about Disabled Voters for Harris
- Follow Cassidy on Instagram & TikTok
- Connect with Cassidy on LinkedIn
- Visit Cassidy’s Website
- Book an EmBRACE It Workshop
- Looking for more great tips, hacks, and blog posts? Visit: Trend-Able.com
- Find more on Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) and patient resources at: HNF-cure.org
- Follow us on IG! @embraceit_podcast | @trend.able | @cmtwegotthis
Hosted by Lainie Ishbia and Estela Lugo.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Disclaimer the views and opinions expressed in this
episode are those of theindividual speakers and do not
necessarily reflect the officialposition of the Embrace it
podcast or the HereditaryNeuropathy Foundation.
This episode may containdiscussions of political
viewpoints that are personal toeach guest.
Listeners are encouraged toform their own opinions based on
(00:21):
a variety of perspectives.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to the Embrace it series, where women
with all types of disabilitiescan be real, resourceful and
stylish.
With each episode, you'll walkor roll away with everyday tips,
life hacks and success storiesfrom community leaders and
influencers.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
So take off your leg braces and stay a while with
laney and estella hi I'm laneyand I have cmt, and I'm estella
and I also have cmt, aneuromuscular disorder affecting
approximately 2.6 millionpeople worldwide, that's as many
as ms.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We believe disabilities should never get in
the way of looking or feelinggood.
Both of us wear leg braces andhave learned through our own
personal journeys to embrace it.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Brought to you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Each episode is designed tochallenge your own stigmas and
beliefs around disability.
We want our listeners to getthe most value for their time
spent with us, so we interviewsome of the most empowering
disability badasses in the world.
Through storytelling, personalexperiences and tips, we're all
reminded of our own strengthsand endless potential.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
For more information and exclusive resources, check
out our websites attrend-ablecom and hnf-cureorg,
and don't forget to hit thesubscribe button for future
episodes and special promos.
Hi everyone, welcome to anotherepisode of Embrace it.
(01:59):
I'm Lainey and hi Estella.
Hey Lainey, how are you Happy?
Fall it's finally today.
As we're recording this, it'slike the first day that it's not
80 degrees out here where I amin Michigan, it's like a little
bit of fall, which is amazing.
It makes me happy and I knowour listeners probably those who
(02:21):
are in the Midwest at leastrelate.
It's been too hot for too long.
We have everyone really.
I know we say it every time,but this one is another really
cool and on point, timely guestwho's full of energy and super
interesting.
(02:42):
I'd love to welcome to Embraceit podcast Cassidy Huff, and
Cassidy is, in her own right, apodcaster.
She is like an influencer ofinfluencers on social media with
like 47.7 thousand followers.
She's an actress.
(03:04):
She's part of the Eleanor onSpirit Writing Academy.
She's an author.
She's a service dog mom, whichis the part that I'm super
interested in.
Of course, I'm interested inyou in general, cassidy, but she
is the executive director ofthe Disabled Voters for Harris
(03:26):
campaign.
So welcome, cassidy.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Hi, I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Happy to have you.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
We have been following you for a while and,
like Lainey mentioned, we loveyour energy and you speak about
many, many different topicsabout disability and you are
really a disability rightsactivist and we would love to
learn more about how that cameabout, understand a little bit
more about Cassidy and how youbecame this incredible,
(03:56):
empowering activist.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, basically, cassidy, we want to know
everything about you.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Yeah, so my name is Cassidy Heff and I and I'm 22,
and I always have to say my agebecause people either think I'm
way younger or way older than Iam.
So I don't know.
I always like to set the recordstraight.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
First and foremost, I was to meet you all the time.
I know I understand Not the wayolder, the way younger, right,
right.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Um, yeah, I was born with a rare genetic form of
dwarfism called conrad hirmansyndrome.
Um, it there.
It's so rare that only about150 people worldwide have it.
So, um, it affects everythingin my body.
It affects my spine.
I have something calledkyphoscoliosis, which means my
spine bends on two differentplanes, so it bends in an S
(04:44):
shape and a C shape, naturally,um.
So when I was one, I had myfirst surgery, because if you
don't medically, if you don't um, correct it with medical
intervention, then it will crushyour internal organs.
So got to fix that and um, soI've had 41 spine surgeries in
my 22 years.
I'm also deafblind, so I have novision in my right eye and I am
(05:12):
profoundly deaf in my left ear,so I wear hearing aid.
As you can see, my entire rightside is about five inches
shorter than my left side,including my lungs, so I wear a
foot-on-foot orthotic prosthesis.
I also have something calledproximal femoral focal
deficiency, which means that myright hip joint didn't form, so
(05:34):
my femur is significantlysmaller.
So I don't really have a hipjoint technically.
So it causes me chronic pain,just like my spine issues.
I have a lot of nerve damage,so I am an ambulatory wheelchair
user and a service dog handler.
Those are just a few of themobility aids that I use and, um
(05:55):
, yeah, I uh I've had 43surgeries in total, because I've
had 41 spine surgeries and twoeye surgeries in my short time
on this earth and I'm trying tofigure out if I, oh, I have a
skin condition called ichthyosis, so I have to manage that, and
I also have something calledpatchy alopecia.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So I think I covered all of my- Wow Well, Cassidy,
for a 22-year-old, that is a lotfor anyone of any age.
So you know what, like I get itwhy people think you're older
and younger and all in between,because you're a bundle of
energy.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, you grew up with I mean from surgery to
surgery by your disability, ordid your disability at any point
(06:52):
have an impact on your decisionor your career path?
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Did my disability have an impact?
No, truthfully, it did not, notuntil way later in life I came
out of the womb a performer, Ilike to say.
The drama was there, so I lovedto perform.
When I was little I wouldorganize how little kids
(07:21):
organize shows for theirfamilies in their living rooms.
And yeah, I took that to thenext level.
I directed, I produced, I wrote, I forced my little sister to
act in them, but I was the star,you know.
So I was born a performer.
I always knew that's what I wasput on this earth to do, and I
(07:46):
was singing at a very, veryyoung age.
My very first performance wasum.
Public performance was um, infront of a sold out crowd of
17,000 people, and I sang and uh, it was.
It was a time and I was notscared at all and I remember I
was four when that happened andI remember just being like this
(08:08):
is what I was meant to do, likethis is what I'm going to do for
the rest of my life, even atfour.
And so I I knew that likeperforming was where it was at
for me and um, so it was neverreally a thought in my mind like
, oh, I'm disabled, so it wasnever really a thought in my
(08:49):
mind like, oh, I'm disabled,maybe I can't be a performer.
So I really took on music in myearly teens and throughout my
whole teens, actually, I was amusician and so, um, I I was a
patient ambassador for Seattlechildren's and I would go to
galas and perform and tell mystory and raise money for the
hospital.
That truly saved my life, and Idid a lot of make a wish events
um did the same thing, you know, raised millions of dollars for
those amazing organizationsjust to give back.
And so I knew that, like thestage was my home and I always
(09:10):
felt an immense pulling butalmost responsibility to be on
stage to tell my story and inwhatever means that was at the
time, whether it was throughmusic, whether it was through
acting.
So when I was a teenager, it wasnever really a thought.
(09:31):
I was kind of like, well, yeah,I'm going to be an actor, like,
obviously.
And my whole family was like,yeah, like there's no ifs, ands
or buts, like she's just goingto do what she's going to do.
So my mom became my manager atthe age of like 14.
And, um, she just startedsubmitting me for auditions and
I accidentally became a voiceactor.
I auditioned for something um,that was a completely separate
(09:55):
project.
And they wrote back and theywere like thank you but no
thanks.
And I took that rejectionpretty hard.
But they said and I took thatrejection pretty hard but they
said, you know, we'll pass yourinformation on.
And I was like nah, okay, andum, they did.
Dreamworks found me through thataudition and at 16, they
(10:17):
reached out to my mom, cause Iwas a minor at that point and
they were like we would reallylove Cassidy to try this voice
acting.
And my mom was like you want tobe a voice actor?
And I was like I didn't thinkso, but sure.
So I ended up getting the gigon Eleanor uh of Eleanor Spirit
Writing Free Writing Academy.
I was the first disabled actorto voice a disabled character
(10:38):
for DreamWorks Animation and itwas an amazing time.
And from there, you know, I, I,you know um worked for Mattel,
for Barbie, and um I worked forAmazon and uh as a voice actor.
So it was nothing that I kindof saw for myself, but I've
always known that, likeperforming was my love language
(11:00):
and it was.
It was where it was at for me.
So now I'm represented, I'm inLA and I'm doing auditions all
the time.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Wow, that is so cool and you do have such a like a
strong, powerful, yet calmingvoice.
It's really beautiful.
I can understand and so, likewhen I introduced you, I had no
idea.
I thought it related tohorseback riding, so I guess
that's how far away from likechildren's movies and television
(11:27):
.
That's okay, so was I, you know.
Well, yeah, I mean, I have achild your age, cassidy.
Actually they are older, butit's okay, we won't go there,
but I am super interested in Imean, okay, obviously you had a
lot of stuff as a kid.
You have a lot of stuff now,including chronic pain,
including the fact in all thesepositive things as well, like
(11:50):
you're this major influencer andactor and the political part.
You know doing what you'redoing right now, I mean with the
vote, you know, with theelection coming up and all the
divide, I guess on social media,and you're a social media
influencer and you have thisorganization that you are also
(12:11):
running their social media.
I bet the acting I'm assuminglike came into, like I bet it
all connects, because in orderto start such an organization,
in order to interact with peoplewho are on the opposite party
online and in person, how doesthat all relate?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah.
So as far as this year'selection, it's the second
presidential election I've evervoted in.
It's my little sister's firstever election that she's ever
voted in, and so there's a loton the line, right, and I think
no matter what side of the aisleyou're on, you can see that
(12:56):
there's a lot on the line, nomatter where you stand on
certain issues.
However, I as I said before westarted recording, you know,
being disabled is a politicalstatement.
My rights are always up fordebate as a woman, as a disabled
(13:18):
woman and you know I have torecognize my privilege because I
am a white disabled woman and,from my point of view, I am
casting my vote not only toprotect my rights, but to
protect the rights of all of mydisabled, you know, fellow
(13:39):
disabled community members, andto protect the rights of every
woman or person with a uterusout there, to protect the people
that I love, but also toprotect the future generations
and my future children who willcome after me, and making sure
that they are safe and they arein a world where they don't have
(14:00):
to worry about going to schooland they are in a world where
they can get the medical carethat they need and they deserve,
whether they're disabled or not.
So I saw that all of theseamazing grassroots organizations
were forming right after KamalaHarris announced her run for
the presidency and when withBlack women started their
(14:24):
organizing call, which was blackwomen for Harris.
And then I saw the white dudesfor Harris call and the white
women for Harris and all ofthese amazing grassroots
organizations, and the one thingthat was missing was that I
didn't see myself representedand just like how I didn't see
myself represented in mass media, whether it was on stage or in
(14:45):
voiceover or on camera, whateverit was, I wasn't seeing myself
being represented in a politicalclimate either.
So my friend and I, janeMattingly, decided to host our
own call for disabled voters forHarris and it got way bigger,
way faster than we could imaginevoters for Harris.
(15:07):
And it got way bigger, wayfaster than we could imagine.
We are now a team of over 30volunteers and I am facilitating
all of those volunteers and Ibelieve I am one of the youngest
on the team and I'm in charge,so it's a little, you know, it's
going from being in charge ofmyself to being in charge of 30
people and have never been in acorporate nine to five job.
(15:29):
I've never been in charge of ateam other than group projects
in school, and I've never beenin a corporate setting and I've
never, you know, I took thisright, you know, out of left
field path that didn't involvesitting at a desk or being a
team lead or anything like that.
Now I'm in charge of 30 people,so it's a little overwhelming
(15:53):
and to say the least, and it gotway bigger, way faster.
And so our mission at DisabledVoters is to mobilize disabled
voters in this election to makesure that our voices are heard
and that we are seen and we havea seat at the table, and we are
(16:15):
providing resources to thedisability community about their
rights when they go to thepolls and if they're in a
mail-in ballot state or theaccommodations that they can ask
for.
And you know different thingslike that that I did not even
know about four months ago, andnow I'm like I have all of this
information floating around inmy brain and I'm being educated
(16:38):
by other people every single dayand I'm having to do a lot of
research on my own every singleday and then give those
resources and information toother people who may need it.
So it's a lot of work, it's alot of pressure, but it's.
You know, I believe that we'regoing to make a difference with
this and I believe that when wefight, we win.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
What is on the line?
When we say, as people withdisabilities, there's a lot on
the line.
What are some of those thingsfrom your perspective?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Well, I think, in order to understand that, we
also have to go back a littlebit to the fact that every issue
is a disability issue, and thedisability community is the only
marginalized group that you canjoin and will join at some
point in your life.
Whether that's old age, whetherthat your life, whether that's
(17:26):
old age, whether that's illness,whether that's an accident,
whatever it is, you will becomedisabled, and so I think that
scares a lot of people, right?
Because our ableist society hastrained us to think that
disability is the absolute worstthing that can happen to you.
And it's not.
I'm here to tell you.
It's really not.
There are worse things.
I could be dead, but there areworse things.
(17:50):
And so I think, with thatknowledge of you can be disabled
at any time, and every issue isa disability issue.
You look at what the candidatesand what each political party is
talking about.
Just pay attention to theactual language that they're
(18:11):
using, right?
So one candidate is trying tofight for improvements to health
care.
The other candidate said, and Iquote all disabled people
should just die.
So you look at those two things, okay, and since you know that
you're going to be disabled atsome point in your lifetime.
(18:31):
Who do you want fighting foryou?
Because one will and one won't.
And when we're talking aboutreproductive health care, that's
a disability issue at the endof the day.
Right, if you are pregnant andyou have some kind of
pre-existing condition that youdidn't know about, surprise,
that's a disability.
If you have some kind ofhereditary condition that you
(18:54):
didn't know about, or even ifyou did know about and you're a
high risk pregnancy, that's adisability and ultimately,
you're not going to get the carethat you deserve under one
residency over the other.
You actually will not be ableto get that care at all.
Um, you actually will not beable to get that care at all.
(19:15):
So we're going to see a lot ofdisabled people dying.
Unfortunately, we're going tosee a lot of um, we're going to
see a unfortunately, um, a lotof disabled people wiped out by
one presidency over the other,and we are, at Disabled Voters
currently coming up withbasically two business plans for
(19:38):
where we want our grassrootsmovement to go after the
election.
Right, because I think, nomatter who runs for president
next in the next four years,it's incredibly important to
still get those resources out todisabled voters, and that's not
anything that I've seen before,and so you know, when you don't
see anything for you, you makeit, and that's that's really
(20:01):
what we're doing.
And so we're we're trying tocome up with two business plans,
because if he wins, we will betrying to protect the rights the
bare minimum rights that westill do have, and when she wins
, then we will be working toexpand our rights, because the
ADA is bare minimum.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
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Speaker 1 (21:25):
You were listening to another great podcast from
Launchpad 516 Studios.
You're tuning in to Embrace itwith Lainey Anastella, brought
to you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
I think Project 2025 is very clear.
I've read it not all of it,because who has time to read 900
pages?
Not me.
I've read a lot of it just tokeep myself informed, to be
educated, so that I can educateother people and it's very
difficult to read.
Don't read it for bedtimereading.
Wouldn't recommend it.
It's not a wind down kind ofdocument, but it talks about the
(22:05):
erasure of the Department ofEducation.
Okay, so if you erase theDepartment of Education?
Okay, so if you erase theDepartment of Education, where
(22:27):
do disabled people stand?
Where do disabled kids stand?
Not even a thought.
Because we are in an ableistsociety, considered a disgrace.
And they want to bring us backto a time before the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
They want to bring us back to atime where the ugly laws were a
thing in this country anddisabled people couldn't be seen
(22:49):
out in public, and that's avery dangerous time.
So when you ask me what issuesare on the ballot for disabled
voters, it's everything, it'severy single thing.
Every single thing is adisability issue.
When you look at healthcare,when you look at women's
(23:09):
reproductive rights, when youlook at education, when you're
looking at diversity, equity andinclusion, I mean those are the
obvious ones.
You go to the trickle-downeconomy.
That's a disability issue,because most disabled people are
in poverty, because it's forcedpoverty, because we have to pay
for so many medical bills.
When you look at insuranceissues, I mean I could go on and
(23:30):
on, but really every singleissue is a disability issue and
all of our rights are on thetable.
It's going to be life and deathfor a lot of people.
If he went.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Wow, what are some of the rights that you think are
most important for disabledvoters to know off the bat?
And obviously we are going toinclude your website, your
resources, in the show notes.
But what are some of the toprights that we should be aware
of when we are getting ready tovote?
Speaker 4 (23:58):
I am going to steal this PowerPoint from my
wonderful, wonderful policy lead.
So this just talks about allpolicy right.
Talks about all policy rightGenerally when we're looking at
the issues that disabled peopleshould be very aware of that are
on the ballot this election.
(24:19):
Harris would like to, or haspledged that she will preserve
the Affordable Care Act andactually make it better and
protect Medicare and socialsecurity, and she said that
multiple times that she wouldlike to not only preserve but
improve all of these differentthings.
Right?
Trump has said that they willreplace the Affordable Care Act
(24:43):
if he can come up with somethingbetter, which, okay.
He's referred to the AffordableCare Act as lousy healthcare
and he has a quote concept of aplan.
And you know, when we'retalking I'm sorry, the concept
of the plan thing really makesme laugh.
Um, when we're talking abouthealthcare specifically, that's
(25:03):
going to affect every singlefamily ever um in this country
and it will also mainly affectdisabled people.
When we're looking at if youcan get your medical aids,
mobility aids at all I alreadyhave to fight with insurance.
You want to give insurance morerights to deny me, are you
(25:24):
kidding?
No, harris, excuse me, supportsrestoring Roe versus Wade and
that is a disability issue, aswe just talked about the right
to women's health care, andTrump says he supports leaving
it to the states, he supportsrestrictions on abortion unclear
on what exactly and at the endof the day, he says that he
(25:48):
supports the big three right,which is rape, incest and life
of the mother.
And when you're talking aboutlife of the mother, where is
that line?
Because when she's on death'sdoorstep, right, she now has a
disability You've now, becauseshe's going to walk away with
(26:09):
permanent disabilities from that.
You can't walk away fromsomething like sepsis, you can't
walk away from something like ahysterectomy without a
permanent disability that willaffect you for the rest of your
life.
And so when we're talking aboutRoe versus Wade in general, you
know we're talking abouthealthcare, we're talking about
(26:31):
the lives of disabled people,and I often ask people who are
pro-life you know what aboutdisabled parents that are about
to give birth?
And they don't think about thatbecause they genuinely do not
think that disabled peopleshould be reproducing.
Trump, specifically, has saidmultiple times that all disabled
(26:52):
people should just die.
He's mocked disabled reporters.
He is unclear on any disabilityissues.
I'm convinced now this is goingoff the record, but I'm
convinced he doesn't know whatthe ADA even is.
Harris has talked aboutpreserving the ADA.
She has.
The Biden and Harrisadministration has held multiple
(27:15):
disability events at the WhiteHouse, where they've invited
disability activists anddisability influencers to
celebrate these milestones inour country as well.
As you know, talk about theexpansion of something like the
ADA, and so those things I think, I think are the real issues on
(27:37):
the table for disabled people.
Also, you know the housingcrisis, the economy crisis, the
economy, like I said, forcedpoverty is huge for disabled
people, and it's because of thedebt that we're in and it's
because of there's just not alot of resources out there, and
so I really, really know that aTrump presidency will make
(28:02):
things worse for disabled people.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Okay, excuse my ignorance, but a lot of our and
we did an episode with anattorney about disability,
applying for disability, but Iknow that some of our listeners,
you know, have acquireddisabilities in their lives.
Estelle and I both have Wellsimilar to you.
(28:25):
We were born, I mean, we wereborn with our condition and ours
gets progressively worse, soactually that applies as well.
So if you're an employee andyou are no longer able to work
and applying for benefits, doeither candidates have any sort
(28:46):
of stand on making that processeasier for people or increasing
the amount people get oranything having to do with money
and disability?
Speaker 4 (28:57):
That's a fair question, and disability
benefits I mean disabled peoplestill don't have a marriage
equality in this country, and soI think it needs to be an issue
that both candidates talk about.
Unfortunately, even thoughdisability is inevitable for
everybody, disability is oftenthe last thing people think of
(29:20):
right, and it's not at theforefront of people's minds, and
so, no, neither candidate to myknowledge has said anything
about that, and I'm honestly notsurprised, because it is the
last thing people think aboutuntil it's too late, until they
have no other option but tothink about it, and so I'm sure
(29:42):
it's probably in the works, butto my knowledge, nobody has said
anything about that yet.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And for those of us who are not sure what you mean
when you say people withdisabilities do not have
marriage equality, can youclarify that?
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yeah.
So if you're on disabilitybenefits, which people think is
really easy to be on and it'sreally not, it's not.
Um, for example, I'm not andI'm I'm very open about this I'm
not.
I don't even qualify fordisability benefits because I
don't.
I have too much money in mysavings.
(30:19):
Basically, I've worked too hardfor too many years to be.
I've worked since I was 14 andby choice, and you know I've
worked in theaters and I'veworked for different
organizations and differentthings like that, and so I have
too much money in my savings.
And why that matters is becauseif you are on something like
(30:39):
SSDI, which is Social Security,disability Benefits, you can
only have $2,000 in assets,whether that is money in your
savings account, whether that isthings you own besides mobility
aids.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
You got to be kidding me.
Wait a minute, Wait, so wait.
Did you say $2,000?
$2,000.
So I know a little bit frombeing a social worker in the
elder care arena and I know thatthere's a whole thing about
like they are allowed.
When you apply for benefitsrelated to Medicaid, for example
(31:18):
, you're allowed to own like anddon't quote me, by the way,
people, but you were at the timeallowed to have an asset like a
home.
No, so when it comes todisability, you're not in this.
No, oh gosh, An asset like ahome would put you over.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
So when it comes to disability, you're not in this.
No, oh gosh, an asset like ahome would put you over.
So you are only allowed to have$2,000 in assets, meaning in
your savings at one time.
This is exactly what I wastalking about with forced
poverty $2,000 in my savingsaccount.
(31:51):
I couldn't afford to pay rentnext month.
So if somebody who is ondisability benefits wants to get
married, they want to apply fora marriage license.
They can't, because you wouldthink that if you're on
disability benefits and you'reonly allowed to have $2,000 in
assets for yourself when you getmarried, that doubles Incorrect
(32:11):
.
It only goes up to $3,000.
So you and your spouse combinedcan only have $3,000 in assets.
Otherwise you lose yourbenefits.
So that means you lose yourhealthcare, you lose all
disability benefits.
So disabled people in thiscountry do not have marriage
(32:33):
equality and it is not talkedabout enough.
I know me and many, many otherdisability activists are
screaming and have beenscreaming about it for years,
and especially when you know gaymarriage was legalized.
That was huge and we were like,yay, gay marriage Is disability
.
Next, are we next?
(32:54):
Nope, no, we are not.
I don't know what year that was.
It was what like 2016?
I'm losing track.
I don't know Something likethat.
And you know we were thedisability community was really
excited that we were next.
Yay, no, we still don't havemarriage equality in this
country, and so that's anotherthing, and I really do hope that
(33:15):
someone says something aboutdisability in maybe the next
debate, I don't know.
Maybe something along thoselines, but do I think it will
happen?
Probably not, just becausepeople don't think about
disability, it's not at theforefront of people's minds
until it's too late.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I have a few fellow advocates in my circle
and they're constantly inWashington DC advocating for
marriage equality, ssdi increaseand all of that.
But it's going to take like.
These are the things that I feelare so important to understand
(33:54):
as people with disabilities,because these type of things do
completely affect our lives on aday-to-day basis, when you
think about just the amount ofcosts that go towards medical
expenses, doctor's appointments,medications, mobility devices,
this quote unquote disabilitytax that we all have to pay on
(34:17):
top of our regular everydayexpenses.
So I think this is Lives, yeah,yeah.
This is something importantthat, whatever side you are on
in this election, I wanteveryone to be empowered from
this episode to research some ofthese topics, do your own
research.
Yes, yeah, that really matterto you that are going to make a
difference in your life andunderstands the importance of
(34:40):
getting out there and voting andI know we talked a little bit
about the issues, but I'd reallylike to talk about the actual
access to the polls, because Iknow that's something that a lot
of people with disabilities maybe hesitant to go out and
physically vote, because what ifI have to stand online for five
hours?
What if I don't have access tomy medication.
(35:00):
What if I all of thesequestions?
Can you speak a little?
Speaker 4 (35:03):
bit on that.
Yeah, so here are theaccommodations that I know of at
the polls.
I am currently in Californiaand so we are a mail-in ballot
state.
I grew up in Washington stateso we were a mail-in ballot.
They still are.
They're a mail-in ballot state,meaning that nobody in
Washington that I knew of wentto the polls, because that's not
(35:27):
something that we did.
I'm sure some people do, buteverybody got their ballot in
the mail.
So growing up that's just how Ithought you voted.
I thought everybody had thatability, and that is not the
reality of the situation.
So some states have an absenteeballot option, which means that
if you cannot physically go tothe polls and stand in line or
(35:52):
wait whatever, you can apply foran absentee ballot and this
means that your ballot getsmailed to you just like if you
were in a mail-in ballot state.
You can fill it out in thecomfort of your own home.
Send it in done Now.
It is currently when we arefilming this September 23rd.
It is currently when we arefilming this September 23rd.
(36:14):
If you know that you need anabsentee ballot, you need to be
applying now.
You need to be going to voteorgV-O-T-E, dot O-R-G to figure
out if you are registered tovote in your correct state with
your correct address, and theywill give you the resources
there to apply for an absenteeballot, if that is something
that you know you need Now.
(36:35):
Some states don't allow absenteeballots and this is why ableism
it truly is.
It's ableism because they don'twant disabled people going to
the polls.
And what states are those thatdon't allow absentee ballots?
I can't tell you the specificstates off the top of my mind,
but I know what region they'rein and they're all red, so
(36:55):
they're all on that side of thecountry.
So I know that they are allSouthern states, the ones that
don't allow you to do absenteeballot mail-in voting.
And in that case, here's whatyou're going to do.
I literally just had thisconversation with somebody who
was telling me that the closestpolling place to them in South
Carolina is at a hotel, and theywere very concerned because
(37:20):
they were like what if Iphysically cannot get into the
hotel?
What am I going to do?
So here's what I told him.
I told him, and I have meetingswith people for individualized
voting plans.
So I'm figuring out what countythey're in, I'm researching
where the closest polling placeis to them, what their state's
(37:44):
voting regulations are Like.
I said, I have a lot ofinformation in my mind that's
not going to be applied toanything else, and this is one
of them.
So I told him that he or I ifhe felt comfortable with me
doing it or his caregiver or hisfamily member Could call ahead
(38:04):
to that polling place and figureout if it was ADA accessible.
Now he might be saying allplaces need to be ADA accessible
.
That's true, are they no?
So, you know, if there's a stepup and he has a power chair,
what's he going to do?
Mm, hmm, so I said that heneeded to call ahead to the
(38:24):
hotel, ask them what the layoutof the hotel is, pull up Google
maps, you know, cause there'slike a street view, right?
You know, those might be a few,those might be a few years old,
but they still work.
Or drive by it.
If you have the ability todrive by it a week, two weeks,
three weeks, before election dayor early voting, plan it out.
(38:46):
So plan out your transportation, plan out, um, after you get
off the phone with that pollingplace, where you, where you're
entering from, where the placeis, if that hotel is carpeted,
like most of them are and youare in a manual chair, be
prepped for that.
(39:06):
Rest for a few days before youknow, because chair plus carpet,
it's not a fun time.
And if you physically cannot getinto the building, you are
going to do one of two thingsyou are going to tell them on
the phone to connect you with apolling volunteer and they are
going to bring your ballot tothe curbside for you.
(39:29):
They're going to bring yourballot.
They're going to bring thepamphlet with all of the voting
information and like what's onyour ballot and the issues and
candidates and things like that.
They're going to bring it toyou.
They're going to bring aclipboard or something of the
sort out to you.
They're going to make sure thatyou are in a private space,
probably off the path a littlebit, so that you are not being
(39:53):
there's nobody influencing yourvote and you can vote in private
there.
It is their responsibility toaccommodate you at the polling
places.
If that is not an availableoption because they're giving
you grief or whatever, you'regoing to go to a different
polling place and you're goingto do the same thing all over
again.
So there's curbside voting,there's absentee voting, there's
(40:15):
mail-in ballots Once you're atthe polling place.
If you need an interpreter, ifyou need a sign language
interpreter, you're going tocall ahead and you're going to
tell them that's exactly whatyou need.
If you want me to do it, I'lldo it.
If you want you know, if youhave a caregiver or a family
member that can help you,they're going to do it.
These are accommodations thatare not.
They're not debatable.
(40:35):
Every single disabled personshould go to vote and I
understand we have to thinkabout a lot more, but it is
possible, like, we're going tovote and we're going to show up,
show up in droves, honestly, tovote.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Cassidy, I vote you for president.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
No.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
I'm not, I'm not even kidding.
First of all, while you'retalking, I'm like looking, cause
I'm in Michigan right now andI'm like looking at the state of
Michigan website.
You literally without by theway website, you literally
without by the way, Cassidy'snot reading anything right now,
she's just talking and she,verbatim is like literally going
through all the things that youhave a right to as a person
(41:16):
with a disability voting.
Did I forget anything?
Not one thing.
Wow, that's pretty good, I meanseriously.
Wow, you are just so incredible, cassidy, you really were so
informative.
This is so timely andinteresting and you know you do
so much.
So if you guys just check outCassidy's Instagram, for example
(41:41):
, is that your biggest area,cassidy?
Speaker 4 (41:44):
No, my TikTok has over 200,000 followers.
Oh my God, seriously, wow myTikTok has over 200,000
followers.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
Oh my god, seriously.
Wow, that's out of our agerange, that's okay.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Oh my god, 200,000.
Are you?
Can you dance?
Do you talk about makeup?
No, what do you do?
That's all I go on to TikTokfor, by the way, not the dancing
part, the aging skincare part.
I'm like flooded in my inboxwith Bethany Frankel and aging
skincare.
(42:13):
Hey they're pretty good, yeah,I know.
They are really good, and ifanybody's listening and wants to
talk about chicken salad andBethany Frankel, I'm here.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
But what do?
Speaker 3 (42:23):
you talk about on TikTok Cassidy.
Speaker 4 (42:25):
Well, every single.
So I have a method with posting, right, because it is my
full-time day job and you haveto treat it like a nine to five,
especially when you're 22 anddon't want to do anything all
day.
I want to crochet and play withmy cat all day, and that's not.
That's not.
That doesn't make money.
So I um, I do have a method toposting.
(42:47):
So anything you see me post onInstagram, I've already posted
on Tik TOK the night before, um,so every single reel that comes
out every day, um, on myFacebook reels and Instagram
reels and YouTube shorts, comesout the night before on my Tik
TOK.
And that's how I do it, so thatI post the exact same things
(43:08):
that you see on my Instagram onmy TikTok.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Wow, we're not missing out.
We don't have any phone moments, so how can people find you?
And we will link to you in allof the show notes.
But what's your handle?
Is it the same on bothplatforms or across all
platforms?
Yeah, it should be.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Cass C-A-S-S-H-U-F-F.
Cass Huff.
And then I also have a website,cassidyhuffcom Super easy.
And then I also have a podcastthat you can listen to anywhere
you listen to podcasts, or onYouTube, which is the View from
4 Feet and 3 Inches.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
And if anybody wants to get involved with Disabled
Voters for Harris, how wouldthey do that?
Speaker 4 (43:48):
disabled voters for Harris.
How would they do that?
Yeah, so, um, we have a websitedisabled voters for Harriscom
um where you can message usthere and one of my team members
or me we'll get back to you.
Um, I'm on top of them.
Right now it's Monday andeverybody took the weekend off,
so I'm like, okay, is everybodychecking their emails?
So what's?
So?
What's going on?
And we all have day jobs.
Keep that in mind.
Um, so, one of us will get backto you if you there's like a
message, as, I don't know, Idon't do the website, that's
(44:10):
somebody else's job.
Um, but, um, but if you want toget in touch with me directly,
go to my profile.
And then also, we do havesocial media at disabled voters
for harris.
If you just look up at disabled, the number four, harris, or on
instagram, it's at disabledvoters for harris.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
so and we're going to put all these links in the show
notes.
Cassidy, we end, but before weend, okay, we're getting really
on top of our ending because wesometimes in the past have not
been consistent, but we arereally on it.
So, cassidy, we end everypodcast by asking our guests.
Cassidy, we end every podcastby asking our guests what does
(44:48):
embrace it mean to?
Speaker 4 (44:49):
you.
I'm going to steal somethingthat I heard my friend Alicia
Anderson say on my podcast.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Oh, we do.
Yes, we had her a couple.
Speaker 4 (45:01):
She was just on my podcast.
I was just on her podcast.
I love her.
I love her.
She's one of my favorite people, and on my podcast this week
she said something that wasreally powerful, and she said
that I'm just going to put it inmy words when I, as soon as I
pushed through the fear thatsurrounds disability, and as
soon as I decided to embrace mydisability as one of not the
(45:27):
only, but one of the mostpowerful aspects of me and who I
am as a person, that is wheneverything clicked for me and
that is when I started doingsomething, doing the thing that
I was meant to do, and that iswhen, you know, other people
started listening to me andhearing me and seeing me for the
(45:49):
person that I am.
And I think that if everybody,just you know, embraced
themselves, whether disabled ornot, just embrace themselves and
who they are and didn't letanybody dull their sparkle, you
know we, we would live in such anicer, kinder society, and so I
(46:11):
think that's what embrace itmeans to me Just embrace
yourself.
Speaker 1 (46:13):
Wow, I love we haven't had an answer like that,
and I love that because that'sreally what it's all about.
I think at the, at thefoundation of the work that you
do, that we do, that's it.
It's helping people alleviatethat shame, that internal
ableism, that internal shame, sothat they can be their best
(46:35):
selves, live their best livesand do the work that they were
meant to do.
And you obviously are doing anincredible job of that and we
are so glad you decided to comeon and share your work and your
story with us and I am writingin Cassidy Huff for president.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
I mean I know it doesn't help, Don't throw your
vote away.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
I knew you'd be upset , but I feel okay, okay, cassidy
, I won't I won't, but I want to.
I really I know you.
You are young when I thinkabout it, but you're so wise, so
thank you so much.
It was like really cool andawesome meeting you.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And I'd love to have both of you on my podcast.
Speaker 3 (47:22):
And we would be super honored.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yes, let me know.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
Everyone.
This is another episode ofembrace it.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
So thank you for joining us and go out and vote,
vote, vote, vote, vote.
Thanks everyone.
Bye, hey, embracers.
Thank you so much for listeningand supporting the embrace it
podcast brought to you bylaunchpad 516 studios executive
produced, produced by GeorgeAndriopoulos and hosted by Laini
Ishbia and Estella Lugo.
Our music and sound effects arelicensed through Epidemic Sound
(47:53):
Embrace.
It is hosted with Buzzsprout.
Do you have a?
Speaker 3 (47:55):
disability-related topic you'd love for us to
feature, or could someone youknow be a fabulous guest on our
show?
We would love to hear yourcomments and feature them on our
next podcast.
So leave us a voicemail or youcan even send us a text to
631-517-0066.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
Make sure to subscribe to this feed wherever
podcasts are available and leaveus a five star review on Apple
podcasts while you're at it.
Follow us at embraceitunderscore podcast on Instagram
and make sure to follow all thegreat podcasts produced by
Launchpad 516 Studios.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
We hope you join us next time and continue to
embrace it.
Disclaimer the views and opinions expressed in this
episode are those of theindividual speakers and do not
necessarily reflect the officialposition of the Embrace it
podcast or the HereditaryNeuropathy Foundation.
This episode may containdiscussions of political
viewpoints that are personal toeach guest.
Listeners are encouraged toform their own opinions based on
(00:21):
a variety of perspectives.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to the Embrace it series, where women
with all types of disabilitiescan be real, resourceful and
stylish.
With each episode, you'll walkor roll away with everyday tips,
life hacks and success storiesfrom community leaders and
influencers.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
So take off your leg braces and stay a while with
laney and estella hi I'm laneyand I have cmt, and I'm estella
and I also have cmt, aneuromuscular disorder affecting
approximately 2.6 millionpeople worldwide, that's as many
as ms.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We believe disabilities should never get in
the way of looking or feelinggood.
Both of us wear leg braces andhave learned through our own
personal journeys to embrace it.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Brought to you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Each episode is designed tochallenge your own stigmas and
beliefs around disability.
We want our listeners to getthe most value for their time
spent with us, so we interviewsome of the most empowering
disability badasses in the world.
Through storytelling, personalexperiences and tips, we're all
reminded of our own strengthsand endless potential.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
For more information and exclusive resources, check
out our websites attrend-ablecom and hnf-cureorg,
and don't forget to hit thesubscribe button for future
episodes and special promos.
Hi everyone, welcome to anotherepisode of Embrace it.
(01:59):
I'm Lainey and hi Estella.
Hey Lainey, how are you Happy?
Fall it's finally today.
As we're recording this, it'slike the first day that it's not
80 degrees out here where I amin Michigan, it's like a little
bit of fall, which is amazing.
It makes me happy and I knowour listeners probably those who
(02:21):
are in the Midwest at leastrelate.
It's been too hot for too long.
We have everyone really.
I know we say it every time,but this one is another really
cool and on point, timely guestwho's full of energy and super
interesting.
(02:42):
I'd love to welcome to Embraceit podcast Cassidy Huff, and
Cassidy is, in her own right, apodcaster.
She is like an influencer ofinfluencers on social media with
like 47.7 thousand followers.
She's an actress.
(03:04):
She's part of the Eleanor onSpirit Writing Academy.
She's an author.
She's a service dog mom, whichis the part that I'm super
interested in.
Of course, I'm interested inyou in general, cassidy, but she
is the executive director ofthe Disabled Voters for Harris
(03:26):
campaign.
So welcome, cassidy.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Hi, I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Happy to have you.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
We have been following you for a while and,
like Lainey mentioned, we loveyour energy and you speak about
many, many different topicsabout disability and you are
really a disability rightsactivist and we would love to
learn more about how that cameabout, understand a little bit
more about Cassidy and how youbecame this incredible,
(03:56):
empowering activist.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, basically, cassidy, we want to know
everything about you.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Yeah, so my name is Cassidy Heff and I and I'm 22,
and I always have to say my agebecause people either think I'm
way younger or way older than Iam.
So I don't know.
I always like to set the recordstraight.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
First and foremost, I was to meet you all the time.
I know I understand Not the wayolder, the way younger, right,
right.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Um, yeah, I was born with a rare genetic form of
dwarfism called conrad hirmansyndrome.
Um, it there.
It's so rare that only about150 people worldwide have it.
So, um, it affects everythingin my body.
It affects my spine.
I have something calledkyphoscoliosis, which means my
spine bends on two differentplanes, so it bends in an S
(04:44):
shape and a C shape, naturally,um.
So when I was one, I had myfirst surgery, because if you
don't medically, if you don't um, correct it with medical
intervention, then it will crushyour internal organs.
So got to fix that and um, soI've had 41 spine surgeries in
my 22 years.
I'm also deafblind, so I have novision in my right eye and I am
(05:12):
profoundly deaf in my left ear,so I wear hearing aid.
As you can see, my entire rightside is about five inches
shorter than my left side,including my lungs, so I wear a
foot-on-foot orthotic prosthesis.
I also have something calledproximal femoral focal
deficiency, which means that myright hip joint didn't form, so
(05:34):
my femur is significantlysmaller.
So I don't really have a hipjoint technically.
So it causes me chronic pain,just like my spine issues.
I have a lot of nerve damage,so I am an ambulatory wheelchair
user and a service dog handler.
Those are just a few of themobility aids that I use and, um
(05:55):
, yeah, I uh I've had 43surgeries in total, because I've
had 41 spine surgeries and twoeye surgeries in my short time
on this earth and I'm trying tofigure out if I, oh, I have a
skin condition called ichthyosis, so I have to manage that, and
I also have something calledpatchy alopecia.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So I think I covered all of my- Wow Well, Cassidy,
for a 22-year-old, that is a lotfor anyone of any age.
So you know what, like I get itwhy people think you're older
and younger and all in between,because you're a bundle of
energy.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, you grew up with I mean from surgery to
surgery by your disability, ordid your disability at any point
(06:52):
have an impact on your decisionor your career path?
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Did my disability have an impact?
No, truthfully, it did not, notuntil way later in life I came
out of the womb a performer, Ilike to say.
The drama was there, so I lovedto perform.
When I was little I wouldorganize how little kids
(07:21):
organize shows for theirfamilies in their living rooms.
And yeah, I took that to thenext level.
I directed, I produced, I wrote, I forced my little sister to
act in them, but I was the star,you know.
So I was born a performer.
I always knew that's what I wasput on this earth to do, and I
(07:46):
was singing at a very, veryyoung age.
My very first performance wasum.
Public performance was um, infront of a sold out crowd of
17,000 people, and I sang and uh, it was.
It was a time and I was notscared at all and I remember I
was four when that happened andI remember just being like this
(08:08):
is what I was meant to do, likethis is what I'm going to do for
the rest of my life, even atfour.
And so I I knew that likeperforming was where it was at
for me and um, so it was neverreally a thought in my mind like
, oh, I'm disabled, so it wasnever really a thought in my
(08:49):
mind like, oh, I'm disabled,maybe I can't be a performer.
So I really took on music in myearly teens and throughout my
whole teens, actually, I was amusician and so, um, I I was a
patient ambassador for Seattlechildren's and I would go to
galas and perform and tell mystory and raise money for the
hospital.
That truly saved my life, and Idid a lot of make a wish events
um did the same thing, you know, raised millions of dollars for
those amazing organizationsjust to give back.
And so I knew that, like thestage was my home and I always
(09:10):
felt an immense pulling butalmost responsibility to be on
stage to tell my story and inwhatever means that was at the
time, whether it was throughmusic, whether it was through
acting.
So when I was a teenager, it wasnever really a thought.
(09:31):
I was kind of like, well, yeah,I'm going to be an actor, like,
obviously.
And my whole family was like,yeah, like there's no ifs, ands
or buts, like she's just goingto do what she's going to do.
So my mom became my manager atthe age of like 14.
And, um, she just startedsubmitting me for auditions and
I accidentally became a voiceactor.
I auditioned for something um,that was a completely separate
(09:55):
project.
And they wrote back and theywere like thank you but no
thanks.
And I took that rejectionpretty hard.
But they said and I took thatrejection pretty hard but they
said, you know, we'll pass yourinformation on.
And I was like nah, okay, andum, they did.
Dreamworks found me through thataudition and at 16, they
(10:17):
reached out to my mom, cause Iwas a minor at that point and
they were like we would reallylove Cassidy to try this voice
acting.
And my mom was like you want tobe a voice actor?
And I was like I didn't thinkso, but sure.
So I ended up getting the gigon Eleanor uh of Eleanor Spirit
Writing Free Writing Academy.
I was the first disabled actorto voice a disabled character
(10:38):
for DreamWorks Animation and itwas an amazing time.
And from there, you know, I, I,you know um worked for Mattel,
for Barbie, and um I worked forAmazon and uh as a voice actor.
So it was nothing that I kindof saw for myself, but I've
always known that, likeperforming was my love language
(11:00):
and it was.
It was where it was at for me.
So now I'm represented, I'm inLA and I'm doing auditions all
the time.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Wow, that is so cool and you do have such a like a
strong, powerful, yet calmingvoice.
It's really beautiful.
I can understand and so, likewhen I introduced you, I had no
idea.
I thought it related tohorseback riding, so I guess
that's how far away from likechildren's movies and television
(11:27):
.
That's okay, so was I, you know.
Well, yeah, I mean, I have achild your age, cassidy.
Actually they are older, butit's okay, we won't go there,
but I am super interested in Imean, okay, obviously you had a
lot of stuff as a kid.
You have a lot of stuff now,including chronic pain,
including the fact in all thesepositive things as well, like
(11:50):
you're this major influencer andactor and the political part.
You know doing what you'redoing right now, I mean with the
vote, you know, with theelection coming up and all the
divide, I guess on social media,and you're a social media
influencer and you have thisorganization that you are also
(12:11):
running their social media.
I bet the acting I'm assuminglike came into, like I bet it
all connects, because in orderto start such an organization,
in order to interact with peoplewho are on the opposite party
online and in person, how doesthat all relate?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah.
So as far as this year'selection, it's the second
presidential election I've evervoted in.
It's my little sister's firstever election that she's ever
voted in, and so there's a loton the line, right, and I think
no matter what side of the aisleyou're on, you can see that
(12:56):
there's a lot on the line, nomatter where you stand on
certain issues.
However, I as I said before westarted recording, you know,
being disabled is a politicalstatement.
My rights are always up fordebate as a woman, as a disabled
(13:18):
woman and you know I have torecognize my privilege because I
am a white disabled woman and,from my point of view, I am
casting my vote not only toprotect my rights, but to
protect the rights of all of mydisabled, you know, fellow
(13:39):
disabled community members, andto protect the rights of every
woman or person with a uterusout there, to protect the people
that I love, but also toprotect the future generations
and my future children who willcome after me, and making sure
that they are safe and they arein a world where they don't have
(14:00):
to worry about going to schooland they are in a world where
they can get the medical carethat they need and they deserve,
whether they're disabled or not.
So I saw that all of theseamazing grassroots organizations
were forming right after KamalaHarris announced her run for
the presidency and when withBlack women started their
(14:24):
organizing call, which was blackwomen for Harris.
And then I saw the white dudesfor Harris call and the white
women for Harris and all ofthese amazing grassroots
organizations, and the one thingthat was missing was that I
didn't see myself representedand just like how I didn't see
myself represented in mass media, whether it was on stage or in
(14:45):
voiceover or on camera, whateverit was, I wasn't seeing myself
being represented in a politicalclimate either.
So my friend and I, janeMattingly, decided to host our
own call for disabled voters forHarris and it got way bigger,
way faster than we could imaginevoters for Harris.
(15:07):
And it got way bigger, wayfaster than we could imagine.
We are now a team of over 30volunteers and I am facilitating
all of those volunteers and Ibelieve I am one of the youngest
on the team and I'm in charge,so it's a little, you know, it's
going from being in charge ofmyself to being in charge of 30
people and have never been in acorporate nine to five job.
(15:29):
I've never been in charge of ateam other than group projects
in school, and I've never beenin a corporate setting and I've
never, you know, I took thisright, you know, out of left
field path that didn't involvesitting at a desk or being a
team lead or anything like that.
Now I'm in charge of 30 people,so it's a little overwhelming
(15:53):
and to say the least, and it gotway bigger, way faster.
And so our mission at DisabledVoters is to mobilize disabled
voters in this election to makesure that our voices are heard
and that we are seen and we havea seat at the table, and we are
(16:15):
providing resources to thedisability community about their
rights when they go to thepolls and if they're in a
mail-in ballot state or theaccommodations that they can ask
for.
And you know different thingslike that that I did not even
know about four months ago, andnow I'm like I have all of this
information floating around inmy brain and I'm being educated
(16:38):
by other people every single dayand I'm having to do a lot of
research on my own every singleday and then give those
resources and information toother people who may need it.
So it's a lot of work, it's alot of pressure, but it's.
You know, I believe that we'regoing to make a difference with
this and I believe that when wefight, we win.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
What is on the line?
When we say, as people withdisabilities, there's a lot on
the line.
What are some of those thingsfrom your perspective?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Well, I think, in order to understand that, we
also have to go back a littlebit to the fact that every issue
is a disability issue, and thedisability community is the only
marginalized group that you canjoin and will join at some
point in your life.
Whether that's old age, whetherthat your life, whether that's
(17:26):
old age, whether that's illness,whether that's an accident,
whatever it is, you will becomedisabled, and so I think that
scares a lot of people, right?
Because our ableist society hastrained us to think that
disability is the absolute worstthing that can happen to you.
And it's not.
I'm here to tell you.
It's really not.
There are worse things.
I could be dead, but there areworse things.
(17:50):
And so I think, with thatknowledge of you can be disabled
at any time, and every issue isa disability issue.
You look at what the candidatesand what each political party is
talking about.
Just pay attention to theactual language that they're
(18:11):
using, right?
So one candidate is trying tofight for improvements to health
care.
The other candidate said, and Iquote all disabled people
should just die.
So you look at those two things, okay, and since you know that
you're going to be disabled atsome point in your lifetime.
(18:31):
Who do you want fighting foryou?
Because one will and one won't.
And when we're talking aboutreproductive health care, that's
a disability issue at the endof the day.
Right, if you are pregnant andyou have some kind of
pre-existing condition that youdidn't know about, surprise,
that's a disability.
If you have some kind ofhereditary condition that you
(18:54):
didn't know about, or even ifyou did know about and you're a
high risk pregnancy, that's adisability and ultimately,
you're not going to get the carethat you deserve under one
residency over the other.
You actually will not be ableto get that care at all.
Um, you actually will not beable to get that care at all.
(19:15):
So we're going to see a lot ofdisabled people dying.
Unfortunately, we're going tosee a lot of um, we're going to
see a unfortunately, um, a lotof disabled people wiped out by
one presidency over the other,and we are, at Disabled Voters
currently coming up withbasically two business plans for
(19:38):
where we want our grassrootsmovement to go after the
election.
Right, because I think, nomatter who runs for president
next in the next four years,it's incredibly important to
still get those resources out todisabled voters, and that's not
anything that I've seen before,and so you know, when you don't
see anything for you, you makeit, and that's that's really
(20:01):
what we're doing.
And so we're we're trying tocome up with two business plans,
because if he wins, we will betrying to protect the rights the
bare minimum rights that westill do have, and when she wins
, then we will be working toexpand our rights, because the
ADA is bare minimum.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
We'll be right back.
Thank you 516 studios.
New episodes available everyweek on all of your favorite
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Speaker 5 (21:00):
Each speak talk is about six to 10 minutes in
length, and the talks are givenin storytelling format.
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We host pop-up events all overthe world, and now we're
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Speaker 6 (21:15):
Join us on the Speak podcast as our speakers step
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We'll let you get back to theshow.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
You were listening to another great podcast from
Launchpad 516 Studios.
You're tuning in to Embrace itwith Lainey Anastella, brought
to you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
I think Project 2025 is very clear.
I've read it not all of it,because who has time to read 900
pages?
Not me.
I've read a lot of it just tokeep myself informed, to be
educated, so that I can educateother people and it's very
difficult to read.
Don't read it for bedtimereading.
Wouldn't recommend it.
It's not a wind down kind ofdocument, but it talks about the
(22:05):
erasure of the Department ofEducation.
Okay, so if you erase theDepartment of Education?
Okay, so if you erase theDepartment of Education, where
(22:27):
do disabled people stand?
Where do disabled kids stand?
Not even a thought.
Because we are in an ableistsociety, considered a disgrace.
And they want to bring us backto a time before the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
They want to bring us back to atime where the ugly laws were a
thing in this country anddisabled people couldn't be seen
(22:49):
out in public, and that's avery dangerous time.
So when you ask me what issuesare on the ballot for disabled
voters, it's everything, it'severy single thing.
Every single thing is adisability issue.
When you look at healthcare,when you look at women's
(23:09):
reproductive rights, when youlook at education, when you're
looking at diversity, equity andinclusion, I mean those are the
obvious ones.
You go to the trickle-downeconomy.
That's a disability issue,because most disabled people are
in poverty, because it's forcedpoverty, because we have to pay
for so many medical bills.
When you look at insuranceissues, I mean I could go on and
(23:30):
on, but really every singleissue is a disability issue and
all of our rights are on thetable.
It's going to be life and deathfor a lot of people.
If he went.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Wow, what are some of the rights that you think are
most important for disabledvoters to know off the bat?
And obviously we are going toinclude your website, your
resources, in the show notes.
But what are some of the toprights that we should be aware
of when we are getting ready tovote?
Speaker 4 (23:58):
I am going to steal this PowerPoint from my
wonderful, wonderful policy lead.
So this just talks about allpolicy right.
Talks about all policy rightGenerally when we're looking at
the issues that disabled peopleshould be very aware of that are
on the ballot this election.
(24:19):
Harris would like to, or haspledged that she will preserve
the Affordable Care Act andactually make it better and
protect Medicare and socialsecurity, and she said that
multiple times that she wouldlike to not only preserve but
improve all of these differentthings.
Right?
Trump has said that they willreplace the Affordable Care Act
(24:43):
if he can come up with somethingbetter, which, okay.
He's referred to the AffordableCare Act as lousy healthcare
and he has a quote concept of aplan.
And you know, when we'retalking I'm sorry, the concept
of the plan thing really makesme laugh.
Um, when we're talking abouthealthcare specifically, that's
(25:03):
going to affect every singlefamily ever um in this country
and it will also mainly affectdisabled people.
When we're looking at if youcan get your medical aids,
mobility aids at all I alreadyhave to fight with insurance.
You want to give insurance morerights to deny me, are you
(25:24):
kidding?
No, harris, excuse me, supportsrestoring Roe versus Wade and
that is a disability issue, aswe just talked about the right
to women's health care, andTrump says he supports leaving
it to the states, he supportsrestrictions on abortion unclear
on what exactly and at the endof the day, he says that he
(25:48):
supports the big three right,which is rape, incest and life
of the mother.
And when you're talking aboutlife of the mother, where is
that line?
Because when she's on death'sdoorstep, right, she now has a
disability You've now, becauseshe's going to walk away with
(26:09):
permanent disabilities from that.
You can't walk away fromsomething like sepsis, you can't
walk away from something like ahysterectomy without a
permanent disability that willaffect you for the rest of your
life.
And so when we're talking aboutRoe versus Wade in general, you
know we're talking abouthealthcare, we're talking about
(26:31):
the lives of disabled people,and I often ask people who are
pro-life you know what aboutdisabled parents that are about
to give birth?
And they don't think about thatbecause they genuinely do not
think that disabled peopleshould be reproducing.
Trump, specifically, has saidmultiple times that all disabled
(26:52):
people should just die.
He's mocked disabled reporters.
He is unclear on any disabilityissues.
I'm convinced now this is goingoff the record, but I'm
convinced he doesn't know whatthe ADA even is.
Harris has talked aboutpreserving the ADA.
She has.
The Biden and Harrisadministration has held multiple
(27:15):
disability events at the WhiteHouse, where they've invited
disability activists anddisability influencers to
celebrate these milestones inour country as well.
As you know, talk about theexpansion of something like the
ADA, and so those things I think, I think are the real issues on
(27:37):
the table for disabled people.
Also, you know the housingcrisis, the economy crisis, the
economy, like I said, forcedpoverty is huge for disabled
people, and it's because of thedebt that we're in and it's
because of there's just not alot of resources out there, and
so I really, really know that aTrump presidency will make
(28:02):
things worse for disabled people.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Okay, excuse my ignorance, but a lot of our and
we did an episode with anattorney about disability,
applying for disability, but Iknow that some of our listeners,
you know, have acquireddisabilities in their lives.
Estelle and I both have Wellsimilar to you.
(28:25):
We were born, I mean, we wereborn with our condition and ours
gets progressively worse, soactually that applies as well.
So if you're an employee andyou are no longer able to work
and applying for benefits, doeither candidates have any sort
(28:46):
of stand on making that processeasier for people or increasing
the amount people get oranything having to do with money
and disability?
Speaker 4 (28:57):
That's a fair question, and disability
benefits I mean disabled peoplestill don't have a marriage
equality in this country, and soI think it needs to be an issue
that both candidates talk about.
Unfortunately, even thoughdisability is inevitable for
everybody, disability is oftenthe last thing people think of
(29:20):
right, and it's not at theforefront of people's minds, and
so, no, neither candidate to myknowledge has said anything
about that, and I'm honestly notsurprised, because it is the
last thing people think aboutuntil it's too late, until they
have no other option but tothink about it, and so I'm sure
(29:42):
it's probably in the works, butto my knowledge, nobody has said
anything about that yet.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And for those of us who are not sure what you mean
when you say people withdisabilities do not have
marriage equality, can youclarify that?
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yeah.
So if you're on disabilitybenefits, which people think is
really easy to be on and it'sreally not, it's not.
Um, for example, I'm not andI'm I'm very open about this I'm
not.
I don't even qualify fordisability benefits because I
don't.
I have too much money in mysavings.
(30:19):
Basically, I've worked too hardfor too many years to be.
I've worked since I was 14 andby choice, and you know I've
worked in theaters and I'veworked for different
organizations and differentthings like that, and so I have
too much money in my savings.
And why that matters is becauseif you are on something like
(30:39):
SSDI, which is Social Security,disability Benefits, you can
only have $2,000 in assets,whether that is money in your
savings account, whether that isthings you own besides mobility
aids.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
You got to be kidding me.
Wait a minute, Wait, so wait.
Did you say $2,000?
$2,000.
So I know a little bit frombeing a social worker in the
elder care arena and I know thatthere's a whole thing about
like they are allowed.
When you apply for benefitsrelated to Medicaid, for example
(31:18):
, you're allowed to own like anddon't quote me, by the way,
people, but you were at the timeallowed to have an asset like a
home.
No, so when it comes todisability, you're not in this.
No, oh gosh, An asset like ahome would put you over.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
So when it comes to disability, you're not in this.
No, oh gosh, an asset like ahome would put you over.
So you are only allowed to have$2,000 in assets, meaning in
your savings at one time.
This is exactly what I wastalking about with forced
poverty $2,000 in my savingsaccount.
(31:51):
I couldn't afford to pay rentnext month.
So if somebody who is ondisability benefits wants to get
married, they want to apply fora marriage license.
They can't, because you wouldthink that if you're on
disability benefits and you'reonly allowed to have $2,000 in
assets for yourself when you getmarried, that doubles Incorrect
(32:11):
.
It only goes up to $3,000.
So you and your spouse combinedcan only have $3,000 in assets.
Otherwise you lose yourbenefits.
So that means you lose yourhealthcare, you lose all
disability benefits.
So disabled people in thiscountry do not have marriage
(32:33):
equality and it is not talkedabout enough.
I know me and many, many otherdisability activists are
screaming and have beenscreaming about it for years,
and especially when you know gaymarriage was legalized.
That was huge and we were like,yay, gay marriage Is disability
.
Next, are we next?
(32:54):
Nope, no, we are not.
I don't know what year that was.
It was what like 2016?
I'm losing track.
I don't know Something likethat.
And you know we were thedisability community was really
excited that we were next.
Yay, no, we still don't havemarriage equality in this
country, and so that's anotherthing, and I really do hope that
(33:15):
someone says something aboutdisability in maybe the next
debate, I don't know.
Maybe something along thoselines, but do I think it will
happen?
Probably not, just becausepeople don't think about
disability, it's not at theforefront of people's minds
until it's too late.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I have a few fellow advocates in my circle
and they're constantly inWashington DC advocating for
marriage equality, ssdi increaseand all of that.
But it's going to take like.
These are the things that I feelare so important to understand
(33:54):
as people with disabilities,because these type of things do
completely affect our lives on aday-to-day basis, when you
think about just the amount ofcosts that go towards medical
expenses, doctor's appointments,medications, mobility devices,
this quote unquote disabilitytax that we all have to pay on
(34:17):
top of our regular everydayexpenses.
So I think this is Lives, yeah,yeah.
This is something importantthat, whatever side you are on
in this election, I wanteveryone to be empowered from
this episode to research some ofthese topics, do your own
research.
Yes, yeah, that really matterto you that are going to make a
difference in your life andunderstands the importance of
(34:40):
getting out there and voting andI know we talked a little bit
about the issues, but I'd reallylike to talk about the actual
access to the polls, because Iknow that's something that a lot
of people with disabilities maybe hesitant to go out and
physically vote, because what ifI have to stand online for five
hours?
What if I don't have access tomy medication.
(35:00):
What if I all of thesequestions?
Can you speak a little?
Speaker 4 (35:03):
bit on that.
Yeah, so here are theaccommodations that I know of at
the polls.
I am currently in Californiaand so we are a mail-in ballot
state.
I grew up in Washington stateso we were a mail-in ballot.
They still are.
They're a mail-in ballot state,meaning that nobody in
Washington that I knew of wentto the polls, because that's not
(35:27):
something that we did.
I'm sure some people do, buteverybody got their ballot in
the mail.
So growing up that's just how Ithought you voted.
I thought everybody had thatability, and that is not the
reality of the situation.
So some states have an absenteeballot option, which means that
if you cannot physically go tothe polls and stand in line or
(35:52):
wait whatever, you can apply foran absentee ballot and this
means that your ballot getsmailed to you just like if you
were in a mail-in ballot state.
You can fill it out in thecomfort of your own home.
Send it in done Now.
It is currently when we arefilming this September 23rd.
It is currently when we arefilming this September 23rd.
(36:14):
If you know that you need anabsentee ballot, you need to be
applying now.
You need to be going to voteorgV-O-T-E, dot O-R-G to figure
out if you are registered tovote in your correct state with
your correct address, and theywill give you the resources
there to apply for an absenteeballot, if that is something
that you know you need Now.
(36:35):
Some states don't allow absenteeballots and this is why ableism
it truly is.
It's ableism because they don'twant disabled people going to
the polls.
And what states are those thatdon't allow absentee ballots?
I can't tell you the specificstates off the top of my mind,
but I know what region they'rein and they're all red, so
(36:55):
they're all on that side of thecountry.
So I know that they are allSouthern states, the ones that
don't allow you to do absenteeballot mail-in voting.
And in that case, here's whatyou're going to do.
I literally just had thisconversation with somebody who
was telling me that the closestpolling place to them in South
Carolina is at a hotel, and theywere very concerned because
(37:20):
they were like what if Iphysically cannot get into the
hotel?
What am I going to do?
So here's what I told him.
I told him, and I have meetingswith people for individualized
voting plans.
So I'm figuring out what countythey're in, I'm researching
where the closest polling placeis to them, what their state's
(37:44):
voting regulations are Like.
I said, I have a lot ofinformation in my mind that's
not going to be applied toanything else, and this is one
of them.
So I told him that he or I ifhe felt comfortable with me
doing it or his caregiver or hisfamily member Could call ahead
(38:04):
to that polling place and figureout if it was ADA accessible.
Now he might be saying allplaces need to be ADA accessible
.
That's true, are they no?
So, you know, if there's a stepup and he has a power chair,
what's he going to do?
Mm, hmm, so I said that heneeded to call ahead to the
(38:24):
hotel, ask them what the layoutof the hotel is, pull up Google
maps, you know, cause there'slike a street view, right?
You know, those might be a few,those might be a few years old,
but they still work.
Or drive by it.
If you have the ability todrive by it a week, two weeks,
three weeks, before election dayor early voting, plan it out.
(38:46):
So plan out your transportation, plan out, um, after you get
off the phone with that pollingplace, where you, where you're
entering from, where the placeis, if that hotel is carpeted,
like most of them are and youare in a manual chair, be
prepped for that.
(39:06):
Rest for a few days before youknow, because chair plus carpet,
it's not a fun time.
And if you physically cannot getinto the building, you are
going to do one of two thingsyou are going to tell them on
the phone to connect you with apolling volunteer and they are
going to bring your ballot tothe curbside for you.
(39:29):
They're going to bring yourballot.
They're going to bring thepamphlet with all of the voting
information and like what's onyour ballot and the issues and
candidates and things like that.
They're going to bring it toyou.
They're going to bring aclipboard or something of the
sort out to you.
They're going to make sure thatyou are in a private space,
probably off the path a littlebit, so that you are not being
(39:53):
there's nobody influencing yourvote and you can vote in private
there.
It is their responsibility toaccommodate you at the polling
places.
If that is not an availableoption because they're giving
you grief or whatever, you'regoing to go to a different
polling place and you're goingto do the same thing all over
again.
So there's curbside voting,there's absentee voting, there's
(40:15):
mail-in ballots Once you're atthe polling place.
If you need an interpreter, ifyou need a sign language
interpreter, you're going tocall ahead and you're going to
tell them that's exactly whatyou need.
If you want me to do it, I'lldo it.
If you want you know, if youhave a caregiver or a family
member that can help you,they're going to do it.
These are accommodations thatare not.
They're not debatable.
(40:35):
Every single disabled personshould go to vote and I
understand we have to thinkabout a lot more, but it is
possible, like, we're going tovote and we're going to show up,
show up in droves, honestly, tovote.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Cassidy, I vote you for president.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
No.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
I'm not, I'm not even kidding.
First of all, while you'retalking, I'm like looking, cause
I'm in Michigan right now andI'm like looking at the state of
Michigan website.
You literally without by theway website, you literally
without by the way, Cassidy'snot reading anything right now,
she's just talking and she,verbatim is like literally going
through all the things that youhave a right to as a person
(41:16):
with a disability voting.
Did I forget anything?
Not one thing.
Wow, that's pretty good, I meanseriously.
Wow, you are just so incredible, cassidy, you really were so
informative.
This is so timely andinteresting and you know you do
so much.
So if you guys just check outCassidy's Instagram, for example
(41:41):
, is that your biggest area,cassidy?
Speaker 4 (41:44):
No, my TikTok has over 200,000 followers.
Oh my God, seriously, wow myTikTok has over 200,000
followers.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
Oh my god, seriously.
Wow, that's out of our agerange, that's okay.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Oh my god, 200,000.
Are you?
Can you dance?
Do you talk about makeup?
No, what do you do?
That's all I go on to TikTokfor, by the way, not the dancing
part, the aging skincare part.
I'm like flooded in my inboxwith Bethany Frankel and aging
skincare.
(42:13):
Hey they're pretty good, yeah,I know.
They are really good, and ifanybody's listening and wants to
talk about chicken salad andBethany Frankel, I'm here.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
But what do?
Speaker 3 (42:23):
you talk about on TikTok Cassidy.
Speaker 4 (42:25):
Well, every single.
So I have a method with posting, right, because it is my
full-time day job and you haveto treat it like a nine to five,
especially when you're 22 anddon't want to do anything all
day.
I want to crochet and play withmy cat all day, and that's not.
That's not.
That doesn't make money.
So I um, I do have a method toposting.
(42:47):
So anything you see me post onInstagram, I've already posted
on Tik TOK the night before, um,so every single reel that comes
out every day, um, on myFacebook reels and Instagram
reels and YouTube shorts, comesout the night before on my Tik
TOK.
And that's how I do it, so thatI post the exact same things
(43:08):
that you see on my Instagram onmy TikTok.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Wow, we're not missing out.
We don't have any phone moments, so how can people find you?
And we will link to you in allof the show notes.
But what's your handle?
Is it the same on bothplatforms or across all
platforms?
Yeah, it should be.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Cass C-A-S-S-H-U-F-F.
Cass Huff.
And then I also have a website,cassidyhuffcom Super easy.
And then I also have a podcastthat you can listen to anywhere
you listen to podcasts, or onYouTube, which is the View from
4 Feet and 3 Inches.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
And if anybody wants to get involved with Disabled
Voters for Harris, how wouldthey do that?
Speaker 4 (43:48):
disabled voters for Harris.
How would they do that?
Yeah, so, um, we have a websitedisabled voters for Harriscom
um where you can message usthere and one of my team members
or me we'll get back to you.
Um, I'm on top of them.
Right now it's Monday andeverybody took the weekend off,
so I'm like, okay, is everybodychecking their emails?
So what's?
So?
What's going on?
And we all have day jobs.
Keep that in mind.
Um, so, one of us will get backto you if you there's like a
message, as, I don't know, Idon't do the website, that's
(44:10):
somebody else's job.
Um, but, um, but if you want toget in touch with me directly,
go to my profile.
And then also, we do havesocial media at disabled voters
for harris.
If you just look up at disabled, the number four, harris, or on
instagram, it's at disabledvoters for harris.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
so and we're going to put all these links in the show
notes.
Cassidy, we end, but before weend, okay, we're getting really
on top of our ending because wesometimes in the past have not
been consistent, but we arereally on it.
So, cassidy, we end everypodcast by asking our guests.
Cassidy, we end every podcastby asking our guests what does
(44:48):
embrace it mean to?
Speaker 4 (44:49):
you.
I'm going to steal somethingthat I heard my friend Alicia
Anderson say on my podcast.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Oh, we do.
Yes, we had her a couple.
Speaker 4 (45:01):
She was just on my podcast.
I was just on her podcast.
I love her.
I love her.
She's one of my favorite people, and on my podcast this week
she said something that wasreally powerful, and she said
that I'm just going to put it inmy words when I, as soon as I
pushed through the fear thatsurrounds disability, and as
soon as I decided to embrace mydisability as one of not the
(45:27):
only, but one of the mostpowerful aspects of me and who I
am as a person, that is wheneverything clicked for me and
that is when I started doingsomething, doing the thing that
I was meant to do, and that iswhen, you know, other people
started listening to me andhearing me and seeing me for the
(45:49):
person that I am.
And I think that if everybody,just you know, embraced
themselves, whether disabled ornot, just embrace themselves and
who they are and didn't letanybody dull their sparkle, you
know we, we would live in such anicer, kinder society, and so I
(46:11):
think that's what embrace itmeans to me Just embrace
yourself.
Speaker 1 (46:13):
Wow, I love we haven't had an answer like that,
and I love that because that'sreally what it's all about.
I think at the, at thefoundation of the work that you
do, that we do, that's it.
It's helping people alleviatethat shame, that internal
ableism, that internal shame, sothat they can be their best
(46:35):
selves, live their best livesand do the work that they were
meant to do.
And you obviously are doing anincredible job of that and we
are so glad you decided to comeon and share your work and your
story with us and I am writingin Cassidy Huff for president.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
I mean I know it doesn't help, Don't throw your
vote away.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
I knew you'd be upset , but I feel okay, okay, cassidy
, I won't I won't, but I want to.
I really I know you.
You are young when I thinkabout it, but you're so wise, so
thank you so much.
It was like really cool andawesome meeting you.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And I'd love to have both of you on my podcast.
Speaker 3 (47:22):
And we would be super honored.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yes, let me know.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
Everyone.
This is another episode ofembrace it.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
So thank you for joining us and go out and vote,
vote, vote, vote, vote.
Thanks everyone.
Bye, hey, embracers.
Thank you so much for listeningand supporting the embrace it
podcast brought to you bylaunchpad 516 studios executive
produced, produced by GeorgeAndriopoulos and hosted by Laini
Ishbia and Estella Lugo.
Our music and sound effects arelicensed through Epidemic Sound
(47:53):
Embrace.
It is hosted with Buzzsprout.
Do you have a?
Speaker 3 (47:55):
disability-related topic you'd love for us to
feature, or could someone youknow be a fabulous guest on our
show?
We would love to hear yourcomments and feature them on our
next podcast.
So leave us a voicemail or youcan even send us a text to
631-517-0066.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
Make sure to subscribe to this feed wherever
podcasts are available and leaveus a five star review on Apple
podcasts while you're at it.
Follow us at embraceitunderscore podcast on Instagram
and make sure to follow all thegreat podcasts produced by
Launchpad 516 Studios.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
We hope you join us next time and continue to
embrace it.
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