There are two "Stuttering Spoken Word Nights" planned in the Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco is considering legislation to urge California to declare a Stuttering Awareness Week.
Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on supporting Assembly Bill 59, which would designate a statewide "Stuttering Awareness Week." We are waiting to see if it passed.
If passed, it would be May 8 to May 13.
It is estimated more than 70 million people worldwide stutter and members of the stuttering community say the legislation is one way to raise awareness.
Maya Chupkov stutters and has a podcast called "Proud Stutter."
They're putting on a "Stuttering Spoken Word Night" next week to kick off San Francisco's Stuttering Awareness Week.
Last year, San Francisco became the first city in California to proclaim "Stuttering Awareness Week."
There will be comedians, poetry and more.
"Most of the themes for the performances will be around stuttering and spreading more awareness, and using storytelling and art and poetry to kind of share about the stuttering experience," Chupkov said.
"And then there will also be other performances that have nothing to do with stuttering. So it's really an event that brings together a mix of people who may not know about stuttering, and also artists who stutter to share and help the community understand stuttering more."
Chupkov said they want to raise awareness there's a thriving stuttering community in the Bay Area.
She said President Biden's openness about his stuttering has opened up the conversation.
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There are two "Stuttering Spoken Word Nights" planned.
One is at Manny's in San Francisco on Wednesday, May 3 at 7 pm.
The other is on Monday, May 8 at 7:30p at California State University East Bay, Dance Studio Room PE 140.
The events are free.
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