Dear Friend,
In this month's newsletter: our annual event, a reminder to contact your US Representative about H.R. 7057, information about voting, and our upcoming support groups. Read on for details.
In partnership with the Open Medicine Foundation (OMF), we invite you to join us on October 24th for our annual meeting, featuring a presentation entitled “Research Update 2020 – Accomplishments, Goals & Clinical Connections.” This virtual event will include an update on MassME's activities, followed by brief presentations by researchers from the Harvard ME/CFS Collaboration and OMF, and a panel discussion. Use the Contact Us form on our website if you would like to register. You may submit questions for the panel here or using Zoom's chat feature during the meeting.
Ask your US Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 7057! Introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D, Maryland), The Understanding COVID-19 Subsets and ME/CFS Act (H.R. 7057), will authorize a $60 million ($15 million/year over 4 years) program expansion for ME/CFS research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and expand public and medical ME/CFS education initiatives. The bill currently has 47 co-sponsors, including Rep. McGovern and Rep. Lynch in Massachusetts (see the full list here). Please ask your US Representative to join them. You can use this form to quickly contact your Representative.
The pandemic has made it much easier to vote remotely this year. Please do vote in the November 3rd general election. If you live in Massachusetts, the deadline to register to vote is October 24th. You can check your voter registration status and/or register online here. All MA voters are eligible to vote by mail this year. Use this link to apply online (if the RMV has your signature on file) or to fill out a form for your local election office (if the RMV does not have your signature). The deadline to apply for vote by mail is October 28th, but the sooner the better. You can check the status of your application to vote by mail and the status of your ballot here. If you need assistance filling out your ballot due to a disability, someone can help you or you can apply for an accessible electronic ballot here, although you still have to print out and mail the ballot.
If you live outside Massachusetts, please visit nonpartisan Vote411.org to find voting information for your state.
Open Discussion Support Group: Saturday, October 17th, 10:30 AM (EDT)
Join us for open discussion.
Research Club: Sunday, October 18th, 5:00 PM (EDT)
Join us for a panel discussion called "Helping Researchers Help Us" with Jemel Aguilar, L.C.S.W., Ph.D. and Allison Ramiller, MPH, Director of Research Programs with Solve M.E. We will talk about current community-based research studies and how pwME can help guide research.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Support Group Continues: Sunday, October 25th, 5:00 PM (EDT)
This is the third in a four-part series, presented by a person with ME/CFS, on navigating tests and treatments, and on how to work with doctors to get help. A variety of tools will be shared in monthly zoom meetings and on Slack in the new #support-health-diy channel where we welcome discussion.
Questions? Comments? Need assistance? Email Jeanne Perrin, Support Group Coordinator, at supportgroups at massmecfs dot org or Direct Message (DM) her on Slack.
We need your help to provide patient services, update our social media, plan our next event, and advocate for more research funding, among many projects. Join our next volunteer phone call on Saturday, December 12th at 12 noon. Or get in touch through the Contact Us form on our website. And, of course, we always welcome financial support for our work to improve health care and support services for people affected by ME/CFS and FM.
Warmly,
Leah Williams, Association President