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This Saturday, March 1, is the 2014 Day of Mourning – a day for disability communities, organizations, and support groups around the country will gather and cherish the memories of those who we have lost to senselessness violence at the hands of those closest to us and to continue to strive to seek justice for these crimes so as to prevent them from ever occurring again.
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In the past five years, over forty people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents. In the year since our last vigil, our community has lost at least ten more victims. In January of 2014 alone, two more disabled people were lost in murder-suicides at the hands of their parents: Damien Veraghen, age nine, and Vincent Phan, age twenty four.
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In a horrifying trend, parents and caregivers—those whom one should be able to trust most—are committing murder against disabled people in their care. In the media, these murders are being labeled justifiable due to the “burden†of the disabled person’s care. The murderers are then given sympathy, and the victims are unfairly disregarded.  The disabled community is coming together to mourn those losses and bring awareness to these tragedies.Â
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ASAN asks you to join us on March 1 in this year’s vigils to bring awareness to the ongoing tragedy, and to demand equal rights, protection and justice for all citizens.
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Current vigil sites and contact information can be found on the ASAN website.
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Sacramento, CA
Shyanna Mendes, asansacramento@gmail.com
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San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Brent White, brent@alacosta-acat.com
Rob Gross, rgross@esoftltd.com
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Fort Meyers, FL
Suzanne Fast, sfeaal@yahoo.com
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Atlanta, GA
R. Larkin Taylor-Parker, larkin92@comcast.net
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Chicago, IL
Carrie Kaufman, CKaufman@accessliving.org
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Boston, MA
Andrew De Carlo, ardecarlo@gmail.com
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Baltimore, MD
Amanda Mills, muchbrighter2@gmail.com
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Towson, MD
Rhonda Greenhaw, rjgwood@gmail.com
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Houghton, MI
Caroline Maye, cnmaye@mtu.edu
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Missoula, MT
Mike Beers, mbeers@summitilc.org
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Lincoln, NE
Sharon DaVanport, sdavanport@gmail.com
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Woodbridge, NJ
Evelyn Delgado, joyzee_devil@yahoo.com
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Reno, NV
Brianna Hammon, csdlibrary@gmail.com
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New City, NY
Jason Ross, jason_s_ross@yahoo.com
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New York City, NY
Cara Liebowitz, caraliebowitz@gmail.com
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Rochester, NY
Diane Coleman, dcoleman@notdeadyet.org
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Syracuse, NY
Alex Umstead, aumstead@syr.edu
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Eugene, OR
Amber Perry, asperamber@gmail.com
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Portland, OR
Theresa Soto, tisoto@gmail.com
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Pittsburgh, PA
Lauren Stuparitz, lestuparitz@gmail.com
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Seattle, WA
Matt Young, indigowombat@yahoo.com
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Washington, DC
Melissa Mooney, mmooney6@masonlive.gmu.edu
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Halifax, Nova ScotiaÂ
Leah Andrews, landrews@nexicom.net
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Virtual vigil, for those unable to attend a local vigil.