OUR STORY
"1 in 4 young adults, ages 18-35+,
Suffer from chronic health conditions,
And yet they live totally in the shadows"
It’s a simple truth: America today is not prepared to provide the infrastructure and support that young adults with chronic health conditions desperately need. We take care of older adults, children, babies—but not this vast and growing population. Why? Because no one expected them to be here. Until just a few decades ago, many would not have lived into young adulthood. Science and technology have changed that, helping young adults survive once-fatal medical conditions. In fact, there are now about 20 million young adults with chronic conditions in America. They are medical miracles, yet they might as well be ghosts.
Just like all young adults, they have dreams and goals. They struggle to figure out how to live on their own, complete college, get the right job and find their lifelong partner.
But given their chronic conditions those goals are much harder to achieve.
The medical system is ill-equipped to provide age-appropriate care for young adults or for conditions that began in childhood. The disability laws that are supposed to protect them in college and the workplace fail to address the unique needs of chronic health conditions. And society is unaware of their existence and how to address them. There are moral, ethical and economic reasons why we as a nation have to wake up to this population and their needs.
That’s why we started the Invisible Wave (iWave or iW) movement. iWave originated in Washington D.C. as young adult volunteers (healthy and with chronic conditions) joined hands to build a caring community for these vulnerable young adults and advocate for their Human and Civil Rights. We are unique because our cause goes beyond the condition. We strive for a powerful voice for the age-based population of young adults. Every young adult with a chronic condition and every group that represents them must unite in numbers if we want to drive change.
Our first goal is to raise awareness and build our base. We invite all individuals, disease groups, health organizations, colleges and businesses to join together under the iWave umbrella. Our goal is to hold iWave events across the country and take our issues to Capitol Hill to create real change!
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Together we can help young adults with chronic conditions emerge from the shadows and claim the American Dream for themselves.
TAKE ACTION
Join the Movement
We want this population to be treated equally and with dignity. The first thing you can do
is join the iWave Movement and ask others to do so. At the top of this site you will find
links to our Blogs and Forums. Make sure you join and support our brave young adults.
Please let us know if you would like to become a blogger and share your story as well.
The world NEEDS to hear your stories.
Become a Volunteer
Another way you can help is to volunteer your time and talent. iWave needs volunteers
in many critical areas— raising funds, conducting outreach, organizing social events,
and expanding the movement online through social media, digital marketing, and
website management.
Consider a Donation
Your personal or corporate donation will go a long way toward strengthening our cause.
With your financial help we can hold events like iW Socials and “Pop Ups,” and
undertake visits to key legislators on Capitol Hill. In addition, we can take our message
across the country, advocating for iWave on the national stage.
However you choose to support iWave, your generosity will make an enormous
difference. Thank you for joining our movement!