Please join us for a panel discussion on severe mental health and legislative efforts.

Speaker Bios:

Leslie Carpenter is a co-founder of Iowa Mental Health Advocacy, a lobbyist in the Iowa Legislature and a serious brain illness advocate. She is a retired physical therapist who now works to improve the mental health treatment system. Leslie serves on the NAMI Iowa Board of Directors and teaches 3 of the NAMI Signature Programs, with her most recent emphasis on NAMI Provider Training. She provides advocacy presentations to a wide variety of audiences to help people to understand the causes of the mental health crisis, to humanize it and to share practical solutions. Leslie is leading an effort in the 6^th Judicial District in Iowa to create an AOT (Assisted Outpatient Treatment) Program in conjunction with Iowa’s first Civil Mental Health Court. She also serves on 2 advisory boards as a family member with lived experience, to help improve the treatment of people with serious brain illnesses in hospital and crisis settings. Leslie and her husband, Scott, have 2 adult children, one of whom lives with a severe Schizoaffective Disorder. Leslie and Scott received the Isabel Turner Award from the Iowa City Human Rights Commission in 2020 for their advocacy work. 

Susan Inman, a Democrat Abroad, is a retired secondary school teacher living in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is the mother of a daughter who has been living with schizophrenia for over 20 years. She advocates in many ways for improvements to mental health services for people living with psychotic brain disorders. This includes writing, with her daughter’s support, the memoir After Her Brain Broke, Helping My Daughter Recover Her Sanity. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including the Vancouver Sun, The Province, Huffington Post Canada, the National Post, and, most recently, in Medium.

Dr. Randall White, DA Canada member 

Awarded the status of Distinguished Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2021. As the sole recipient of this distinction for Western Canada, Dr. Randall is being recognized for his significant contributions to the psychiatric profession in a range of areas, including administration, teaching, scientific and scholarly publications, and clinical excellence. The status of Distinguished Fellow is the highest honour conferred by the APA upon its members.

Dr. White is the Medical Director of Community Mental Health in Vancouver, and the clinical director of the BC Psychosis Program at UBC Hospital.  His clinical and research interests lie in the management of treatment-resistant psychotic disorders. Dr. White was first appointed to the UBC Department of Psychiatry in 2007, and was promoted to the rank of Clinical Professor in 2016.  As a member of UBC clinical faculty, he has contributed extensively to both teaching and service activities, through which he has made a significant and positive impact on our undergraduate and postgraduate Psychiatry education programs. Annually, he actively participates in supervising medical students and residents, and delivers academic day seminars and other lectures on a wide range of topics such as Psychosis Clinical Decision Making, Preparation for Medical Practice, Psychotic Disorders in DSM 5, and Treatment Resistant Psychosis.  As well, he has served as co-chair of an annual psychopharmacology conference, has produced CME for UBC CPD and Medscape.com, and is the recipient of a number of teaching awards and honours.

Additional Resources:

• Watch a short video about schizophrenia (6 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=9DHKoBUZtq0&fbclid=IwAR2xlGt1NQzBGqmuovLNjt3V4EaKrJRgDpQ03Mqu32gSwZupuj2X7VYevtE
• Sabah Muhammad's talk at NATCON: https://youtu.be/T8bTsFHHgBg
• Read "Difficult: Mothering Challenging Adult Children Through Conflict and Change," by Judith Smith https://www.difficultmothering.com/
  • (Appendix A) lists resources for Mothers and Adult Children:
    • AAA - Area Agency on Aging: https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.aspx
    • SAMHSA's National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
    • FindHelp: https://findhelp.org
    • NAMI: https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Individuals-with-Mental-Illness/Finding-a-Mental-Health-Professional

Join the LGBTQ+ Caucus and the Youth Caucus for an open and free-wheeling Intergenerational Dialogue.  Panelists from both caucuses will talk about their histories--of coming out, of oppression, of struggle--and we'll compare notes about life for LGBTQ+ people in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and in the new millennium.  We'll also discuss how the issues confronting our community and the language we use to describe ourselves and our lives have changed and evolved over time.

WHY ARE WE CALLING?

Our democracy is at stake this November. Votes from abroad - as mentioned in the Jan. 6th hearings - can hand Democrats much-needed victories to keep Congress, win two more Senate seats and more down ballot races. 

We know that calling DA members is one of the most effective ways to mobilize voters. 

Take action with us as we 'Dial for Democracy'

WHAT IS D4D?

MAKING CALLS

Dialing 4 Democracy is a 48-hour voter mobilization Call-a-thon. During the weekend of June 25-26, callers will contact Democrats Abroad members who vote in battleground states. Calling will start at 12:01am US Eastern on Saturday, June 25 and continue through 11:59pm US Eastern on Sunday, June 26. TOGETHER, we can reach thousands of voters!

AND/OR FINDING SPONSORS 

D4D is also a fundraiser modeled on walk-a-thons, where callers find sponsors from their family, friends and colleagues. All funds raised will support DA's voter mobilization efforts, including the online phonebanking program.

You can make calls with or without sponsors or donate even if you don't make calls!

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?

Follow these steps to Dial 4 Democracy: 

STEP ONE – 

Become a caller! Sign up via this Google form to indicate how many calls you'd like to make. 

New to phonebanking? Get Set to make calls here.

STEP TWO –

Find sponsors - let people in your life know that we are dialing for democracy.

Ask them to support our work by donating at the Dialing for Democracy donation page! 

STEP THREE –

Join us at our special online events. RSVP at the bottom of this page to receive the links!

SPECIAL EVENTS – RSVP for the links!

Opening Event – Saturday, June 25 at 8-8:30am EDT/2:00pm CEST

We’ll be on Zoom and Facebook to urge our callers (and donors) on!

Midway Motivation – Sunday at 8:45am EDT/3:45pm CEST

Get motivated for the 2nd day of calling with North Carolina Democratic Senate nominee, Cheri Beasley! RSVP HERE!

Closing Event – Sunday, June 26 at 3-3:30pm EDT/9:00pm CEST

We’ll be back on Zoom and Facebook Live to celebrate our progress and congratulate, thank, and hear from callers! 

DIALING 4 DEMOCRACY CALL-A-THON

RSVP below and sign up to become a caller here Google form

Join us at our special online events. RSVP to receive the links! 

Contact us at:  

[email protected]

The Global Disability Caucus is dedicated to building a stronger Democrats Abroad! Our goals are to increase accessibility to information, events, and activities. We strive to create sensitivity to and awareness of disability issues.

In addition to Democrats Abroad members with disabilities, we welcome and encourage the involvement of supporters of our members and our messages! We hope to form an inclusive, diverse, active, and effective community that provides fulfilling experiences for all.

Please check the Global Disability Caucus Wiki-Page or the DemsAbroad Global Calendar to discover past events and future meeting dates for GDC events!

• 9 AM Eastern Daylight Time
• 3 PM Central European Time
• 9 PM China Standard Time

THE FUTURE IS ACCESSIBLE! 

Consider making a donation to help get out the VOTE in 2022. Please donate today: https://www.democratsabroad.org/dc-donations

Harmful narratives, including mis- and disinformation, are one of the greatest challenges facing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in today’s world. They are making communities less safe and trust in the election systems weaker. It is even tearing some families apart. To make matters worse, the issue of harmful narratives is often overlooked as it pertains to AAPI spaces – leaving AAPI communities at greater risk. 

Hear from Kyle Van Fleet, Strategic Communications Associate at Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), who monitors mis- and disinformation as it pertains to AAPI communities and elections, democracy, anti-Asian hate, and other related topics, on how the problem of harmful narratives looks in and impacts AAPI communities, what is being done to confront this issue, and best practices to combat harmful narratives in your own feeds.

About the speaker:

Kyle Van Fleet (he/him/his) is the Strategic Communications Associate at APIAVote, where he leads the organization's efforts to monitor mis- and disinformation regarding democracy, elections, and harmful narratives impacting or originating from AAPI communities. Kyle also manages APIAVote's social media strategy and supports the organization's overall work on narrative change among other duties. Prior to joining APIAVote, Kyle worked as a Digital Research Associate monitoring mis- and disinformation at GQR during the 2020 election cycle. Kyle is a graduate of James Madison University and is an accomplished professional photographer.

Join New Yorkers Abroad for our Meet the Primary Candidates* panel discussion to hear from the candidates running in the New York 12th district!

This event is your chance to hear the Democratic candidates share their backgrounds, key issues, and their vision for the district. We will be asking candidates about issues that uniquely impact Americans abroad including taxation, financial access, the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision, vaccine access, and Medicare portability. There will also be time for a Q&A session with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. 

The New York 12th District has one of the largest concentrations of Democrats living abroad and our votes could be the margin of victory in this race.

WHEN:

• Thursday, July 7th
  • 1pm Eastern / 7pm CEST Click here for your local time

Add event to your calendar

NY Primary Ballots will be sent out starting July 9! Request yours TODAY if you haven't already at www.votefromabroad.org! 

This event is being co-hosted by the DA State Teams and the Taxation Task Force.

We are looking for New York 12th district voters living abroad to ask questions during the webinar. If you're a NY-12 voter and you're interested in participating, please drop us an email at [email protected] with your pre-submitted question!

Join the New Yorkers Abroad team on Slack and on Facebook.

*Democrats Abroad has not endorsed any candidate(s) and is committed to remaining neutral for the duration of the primary. ALL candidates for this race were invited to speak at this event.

Come meet the phenomenal US Senate Candidate from North Carolina!

Cheri Beasley is a mom, former public defender, judge, and the first Black woman to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She’s spent her life fighting to uphold the law and keep communities safe – and as U.S. Senator, she’ll fight to lower costs, create good-paying jobs and expand access to affordable, quality health care in every part of North Carolina.

Join the DA North Carolinians Abroad State Team to welcome Cheri Beasley, Democratic nominee for US Senate!

WHEN: Sunday, June 26th at 8:45am EDT/ 2:45pm CEST

RSVP for the Zoom link!

You can also join our NC team to help pave the way to the Midterms and Turn NC Blue!

• Write to [email protected] with any questions
• Join the NC Team on Slack 
• Join the North Carolinians Abroad Facebook group
• Come to DA Phonebanking Training

Our Pride Month Teach-In will focus on a wide range of political issues important to the LGBTQ+ community, with several special guests.   Learn about the politics of "Don't Say Gay" in Florida, what the destitution of Roe will mean for our community, strategies for responding to culture war attacks on the community, and much much more.   

Our Monthly Monday summer sessions are open to all. We provide a topic and optional resources to prepare for the discussion. 

At our summer meetings, we’ll also encourage all to consider with us which primary candidates will help us deliver on the issues we discuss. 

Sign up now and we’ll send you the event details closer to the event date.

RSVP below to join the discussion!

You can inform and mobilize members around the world to make progress and win in the midterms. The Fight for (at least) $15. Meaningful Medicare expansion. Student debt relief. Reparative justice. Climate change action. Voting rights. And more. Will you help America build back better and get out the vote for progress?  Please donate here.  Donate $1 (number of Congressional Progressive Caucus Senators) to $100 (number of CPC Representatives), perhaps an amount equal to the number of new members you want to join the CPC in November.  Thank you!

Our Monthly Monday summer sessions are open to all. We provide a topic and optional resources to prepare for the discussion. 

At our summer meetings, we’ll also encourage all to consider with us which primary candidates will help us deliver on the issues we discuss. 

Sign up now and we’ll send you the event details closer to the event date.

RSVP below to join the discussion!

You can inform and mobilize members around the world to make progress and win in the midterms. The Fight for (at least) $15. Meaningful Medicare expansion. Student debt relief. Reparative justice. Climate change action. Voting rights. And more. Will you help America build back better and get out the vote for progress?  Please donate here.  Donate $1 (number of Congressional Progressive Caucus Senators) to $100 (number of CPC Representatives), perhaps an amount equal to the number of new members you want to join the CPC in November.  Thank you!