People with ALS Can Get Social Security Disability Benefits Sooner

May was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Awareness Month. ALS is a progressive disease with no known cure. It advances rapidly and attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. On average, 1,000 people with ALS apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits every year.

The ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 eliminates the required five-month SSDI waiting period for ALS applicants approved for benefits on or after July 23, 2020. The new law, however, does not affect our disability application or determination process.

This past month, we made the ALS claims processing even faster. Our system now automatically eliminates the five-month waiting period for ALS disability insurance claims. Previously, we had to prepare manual awards and send them to our Processing Centers for action—which took much more time. Now, we can help people with this debilitating disease in just a matter of days.

To give a real life example, a claimant with ALS recently submitted to us an online disability application. Using an electronic health exchange, we were able to collect sufficient medical evidence for the claimant and processed the claim in just two days. To learn more about how this process works, please visit our Disability Benefits Approval page (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/approval.html) . 

People with ALS Can Get Social Security Disability Benefits Sooner

Help Raise Some Dough for ALS at Franklin's HoneyDew

Purchase The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter Donut @ Participating Honey Dew Donuts Locations

100% of Proceeds Raised Go Directly to The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter

• 213 East Central St, Franklin
• 405 West Central St, Franklin 

Download your copy of the flyer as a reminder:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FkDPVXgmWVkfzkrt74FZ5kSMHaXYBPoq/view?usp=sharing

   

 Help Raise Some Dough for ALS at HoneyDew

 

Brewing a Cure 4 ALS - Aug 10

All proceeds raised at the event will be donated in honor of Denis Ceruti, a local businessman, originally from Medway. “Brewing a Cure 4 ALS” (https://fundraise.als.net/brewingacure4als), a craft beer and wine festival being held on August, 10th in Cambridge, MA, with the critical mission of raising funds to help find a cure for the devastating disease, ALS.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Once ALS starts, it almost always progresses, eventually taking away the ability to walk, dress, write, speak, swallow, and breathe, and shortening the life span. How fast and in what order this occurs is very different from person to person. While the average survival time is three years, about 20 percent of people with ALS live five years, 10 percent will survive 10 years and 5 percent will live 20 years or longer.

There is currently no cure for ALS. This urgent unmet medical need for effective treatments for this devastating and fatal disease is the basis for the research and drug development effort at the nonprofit biotech organization, ALS Therapy Development Institute https://www.als.net/. Located in Cambridge, MA, ALS TDI is the world’s first and largest nonprofit biotech focused 100 percent on ALS research. ALSTDI is a 501 (C)3 organization. 87% of all funds raised by the organization go directly to ALS Research.

The organizers of “Brewing a Cure 4 ALS” are proud to be partnered with ALS TDI for this event. All proceeds raised will be donated to the ALS TDI in honor of our dear friend, Dennis Ceruti, a hardworking small business owner, a loving husband, and father of 4 amazing girls, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. We believe that ALS is not an incurable disease. It is an underfunded one.

At the moment, our greatest need is with ticket sales as well as table sponsorships. Tickets range from a $100 VIP early access ticket to a $60 general admission ticket. Table Sponsorships are $750. Whether it is sponsoring a table, purchasing tickets, or simply helping publicize the event to other interested businesses, brewers or beer enthusiasts, any support one could provide, big or small, would be appreciated.

Brewing a Cure 4 ALS - Aug 10

2nd Annual Frates' Family Field Day - June 12

Join us for the 2nd Annual Frates' Family Field Day --- on Sunday, June 12th!

It is a great afternoon of family fun --- brought to you by Team Frate Train.

Fantastic music ... potato sack races ... three legged races ... balloon animals ... cotton candy ... inflatable sports games ... face painting ... and of course, the chance to take the ice bucket challenge!

The event takes place at King St. Memorial Park --- from 1pm-4pm.

This is a fun, free event --- catering to those in kindergarten to grade 5. Come have some fun, take the ice bucket challenge --- and help us promote awareness of Pete's story and support ALS research.

http://bit.ly/1t2qRPb


Pete Frates is the 30-year-old former Boston College Division 1 athlete, and creator of the world famous Ice Bucket Challenge, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. Pete established the FrateTrain ALS Research & Support Fund to provide funding for targeted ALS research and to help support those afflicted with ALS who have not been as fortunate to receive the support he has. ALS research received tremendous recognition over summer 2014 through the widespread “Ice Bucket Challenge.” 

Its purpose was to promote awareness of the disease and to encourage donations to research, the cause received an outpouring of support. With the support of countless celebrities including Jimmy Fallon, Matt Damon, and Taylor Swift, the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was a tremendous success; raising millions of dollars to help find treatments and a cure, as well as raising awareness worldwide about this tragic disease. Team Frate Train is asking you to take the ice bucket challenge with us on June 12th!

To learn more about Pete's story or the ALS Research and Support Fund, please go to:
www.petefrates.com

www.petefrates.com