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REMARKS
Council Member Shahana K. Hanif speaks on lupus awareness and personal experience
1:20:21
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82 sec
Council Member Shahana K. Hanif delivers remarks on lupus awareness month, sharing her personal experience living with lupus and advocating for policy changes to support those affected by the disease. She emphasizes the need for public education, faster diagnoses, and better access to specialists, while also calling for broader policy changes such as ADA accessible transit and free public health care.
- Hanif highlights the official recognition of May as lupus awareness month in New York City through Resolution 550.
- She discusses how living with lupus has shaped her leadership and advocacy for disability justice, immigrant justice, and universal health care.
- Hanif stresses the importance of building a caring, accessible city that includes everyone.
Shahana K. Hanif
1:20:21
Thank you.
1:20:22
Thanks to this council, May is officially lupus awareness month in New York City, recognized through resolution five five zero, which we passed in 2023.
1:20:32
As someone living with lupus, I want to honor my fellow lupus warriors across New York City.
1:20:37
Each of us carries a different story, but we all face the reality of living with an incurable autoimmune disease.
1:20:45
That's why we need more public education on lupus symptoms, faster diagnoses, and better access to specialists.
1:20:53
But awareness isn't enough.
1:20:55
We need policy changes.
1:20:57
That includes a fully ADA accessible transit system, remote work protections, and free public health care.
1:21:04
These are not luxuries, they're lifesaving.
1:21:07
I've shared my lupus journey many times.
1:21:10
So folks understand why I may take the stairs a little slower and why I'm so committed to building a caring, accessible city.
1:21:20
Living with lupus taught me grit and more importantly compassion for myself and for others.
1:21:27
That compassion fuels my fight for disability justice, immigrant justice, universal health care, reproductive care, and workplace protections.
1:21:37
Lupus shaped my leadership and I'm proud to keep fighting for a New York City that includes all of us.
1:21:43
Thank you.