‘I will leave this world better than I found it’

By Whit Sides, Cover Alabama storyteller, Alabama Arise

Angel Garrett has friends everywhere she goes.

As she sat down in a local coffee shop to share her story, she greeted three friends visiting from the local Arc chapter. The Arc is a nationwide community-based organization that advocates for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“I used to work there,” Angel said. “But now I can’t work as much or it affects my Medicaid waiver.”

Angel, 37, is a writer from DeKalb County in northeast Alabama. She was born with a rare condition called schizencephaly, which has affected her development and speech. After high school, Angel followed her passion for language to Birmingham, where she earned a degree in creative writing with a minor in sociology from UAB.

“Though I was very shy until I was 22, I have always had that voice inside that I was fortunate enough to develop,” she said. “Eventually, I gained the confidence to speak, and unlucky for everyone else, I haven’t shut up since.”

Angel’s adept ability to communicate and connect with people have opened many doors in her life. She now serves as an advocate for the Governor’s Office on Disability.

I first met Angel when she was taking the stage at the Fort Payne Opera House earlier this summer. Cover Alabama and the Progressive Women’s Action Coalition invited her to a town hall to share her experience with navigating Medicaid while living with a disability. She did so in a powerful way.

“People are surprised when I say it, but I consider myself lucky to be disabled,” she said.

Personal Stories

‘I will leave this world better than I found it’

By Whit SidesOctober 21, 2025Health

Angel Garrett spends many mornings at Alice Circle, a local cafe, bookstore and gift shop in her native Fort Payne. She is an outspoken advocate for protecting health coverage in Alabama. (Photo by Whit Sides)

Angel Garrett has friends everywhere she goes.

As she sat down in a local coffee shop to share her story, she greeted three friends visiting from the local Arc chapter. The Arc is a nationwide community-based organization that advocates for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“I used to work there,” Angel said. “But now I can’t work as much or it affects my Medicaid waiver.”

Angel, 37, is a writer from DeKalb County in northeast Alabama. She was born with a rare condition called schizencephaly, which has affected her development and speech. After high school, Angel followed her passion for language to Birmingham, where she earned a degree in creative writing with a minor in sociology from UAB.

“Though I was very shy until I was 22, I have always had that voice inside that I was fortunate enough to develop,” she said. “Eventually, I gained the confidence to speak, and unlucky for everyone else, I haven’t shut up since.”

Angel’s adept ability to communicate and connect with people have opened many doors in her life. She now serves as an advocate for the Governor’s Office on Disability.

I first met Angel when she was taking the stage at the Fort Payne Opera House earlier this summer. Cover Alabama and the Progressive Women’s Action Coalition invited her to a town hall to share her experience with navigating Medicaid while living with a disability. She did so in a powerful way.

“People are surprised when I say it, but I consider myself lucky to be disabled,” she said.

The life-altering threats that federal cuts pose

Angel’s experiences have forged her into a fierce advocate of programs that have allowed her not just to have daily necessities, but also to maintain a high level of independence.

“I’m lucky because I’m a disabled person in the United States of America. I’m afforded the grace and opportunities to have my basic needs met. I’m given access to health care,” she said. “I qualify for programs like SNAP, LIHEAP and other forms of assistance that offer me peace and stability so I can live as healthily as possible.”

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food assistance for tens of millions of Americans, including 1 in 7 Alabamians. LIHEAP is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households with low incomes afford heating and cooling bills.

Both programs face substantial federal cuts under HR 1 – the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which was enacted into law in July. So does Medicaid, which provides health coverage for 1 in 5 Alabamians, mostly children, older adults, and people with disabilities.

The federal Medicaid cuts’ effects will be limited in Alabama because our state’s program is already bare-bones. But the law will limit Alabama’s ability to strengthen its health care system in the future.

Since HR 1 passed, Angel said people often ask what her life would be like without Medicaid. Without it, she said, she wouldn’t be able to get the care she needs to maintain her health and mobility.

“I wouldn’t be able to go to therapy every week,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to get my medications, procedures, support, help, food, supplies or any other things that assist my quality of life.”

Advocating for herself and others

Angel said she recently has had issues with being reimbursed for out-of-pocket costs, including transportation to her doctor’s appointments. Medicaid offers many important services, and she said she knows states like Alabama stand to lose when budgets are cut.

“The non-emergency transportation program is supposed to reimburse my trips. I qualify now since my Medicaid waiver got approved. However, it isn’t a seamless process,” she said. “I haven’t had any luck coming up with a solution even though I’ve talked to both Medicaid and Medicare.”

The unmet health care needs don’t stop there. Angel said she hears stories from the community about procedures being denied and about coverage losses for children with autism. She said she also believes dental care should be included with Medicaid and all other health coverage.

“I’m lucky enough to have dental coverage,” she said. “I feel like oral health is one of the most important factors in overall wellness, and Medicaid should cover that.”

While Medicaid always has had room for improvement, Angel said, any new cuts would be life-altering for Alabamians like her. She said she will continue to speak out about how vital Medicaid is for her life and her future.

“I feel that I would be wasting my life — and my mind, my thoughts, my voice — if I didn’t fight for what I have,” Angel said. “It’s disheartening that instead of fighting for expanding the programs that help people like me, I am having to speak up to protect and just keep the programs that allow myself and so many others to live. Not even live independently, but simply just live.”

‘Progression, not regression’

Medicaid provides essential protections for people whose voices often go unheard in policy debates, Angel said. She said she feels the program should aim for abundance and not austerity.

“Oftentimes, people with disabilities are infantilized. Not every person with a disability has a voice to say what they need,” she said. “It has always been a goal of mine to help progress the quality of life for people like me. Progression, not regression.”

As she alludes to with her “lucky to be disabled” mantra, Angel said she believes she often “turns lemons into lemonade” to help ensure she is not the only one to benefit from her advocacy.

“Because of my disability, people don’t take me as seriously as I need them to until I’m raising hell, cussing or flipping metaphorical tables,” she said. “However, I’ll continue to flip as many tables as I need to just to make a difference when things like Medicaid are on the line. I will leave this world better than I found it.”

About Alabama Arise and Cover Alabama

Whit Sides is the Cover Alabama storyteller for Alabama Arise, a statewide, member-led organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty. Arise’s membership includes faith-based, community, nonprofit and civic groups, grassroots leaders and individuals from across Alabama. Email: whit@alarise.org.

Arise is a founding member of the Cover Alabama coalition. Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations advocating for Alabama to provide quality, affordable health coverage to its residents and implement a sustainable health care system.

Stories help to put a human face on the health care policy issues. By sharing your story, you help speak for people who may be facing issues just like yours.