Connecticut Amputee Network welcomes you. As amputees ourselves, we know that people with limb loss/limb difference share issues and concerns that need to be addressed. We created this organization, CAN, to join people with limb loss/limb difference, their loved ones, caretakers, educators, and medical professionals to work together for positive change in legislation, to educate and share information, and to network with other organizations that serve people with disabilities.
We won’t be able to do all of this on our own — we will need your help. If you want to be involved, please contact us. If there’s a particular area that you are interested in or have a special skill to offer, tell us about that as well.
We CAN overcome challenges and make progress together.
CAN’s Mission
CAN advocates for the Connecticut limb loss and limb difference community by taking action in three areas: legislative advocacy, education, and organizational networking.
- Legislative Advocacy: We communicate the community’s needs and concerns to elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels, and in turn, elected officials consult with us as experts on the community’s position on disability issues. We spearhead initiatives to stop or blunt actions that may hurt us and promote new laws and regulations that will help us.
- Education:
We communicate with the community on disability-related issues that may impact them, keeping them abreast of developments at the state and federal level, and informing them of actions they can take. We offer educational presentations and materials regarding the law and disability rights for the community. We refer
certified peer mentors to amputees as requested. - Organizational Networking: Through our relationships with public and private organizations that defend the rights of all individuals with disabilities, we leverage our combined knowledge and power to protect the rights of individuals with limb loss and limb difference.
CAN Founders
Herb Kolodny
After losing his right leg to cancer in 2013, Herb became an advocate for others in the limb loss community by being active in amputee support groups across Connecticut and as a certified peer mentor. He has published several articles and has presented at regional and national conferences. He is a member of the So Every BODY Can Move Connecticut coalition working to change legislation regulating health insurance coverage for activity-specific prosthetic and orthotic devices, and a certified amputee peer visitor, peer visitor trainer, and lead advocate with Amputee Coalition. Herb began tackling legislative advocacy in 2017, co-founding Connecticut Amputee Network (CAN) with the goal of getting state legislation passed to protect health insurance coverage for prosthetics. The Insurance Fairness for Prosthetics Act, PA18-69, became law in 2018. Herb is also the recipient of the Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Community Advocate of 2018 award. Now retired, Herb previously owned and operated Computer-Docs, LLC.
Brenda Novak
Since 2008, Brenda Novak has been a left above-knee amputee, the result of trauma suffered from a water tower collapse while consulting for an ecotourism development project in West Africa. She is a member of the So Every BODY Can Move Connecticut coalition working to change legislation regulating health insurance coverage for activity-specific prosthetic and orthotic devices, and a certified amputee peer visitor, peer visitor trainer, and lead advocate with Amputee Coalition. She and Herb worked together on the 2018 legislation PA 18-69, The Insurance Fairness for Prosthetics Act. With Herb, she has presented at national and regional conferences and published articles in Amplitude and InMotion magazines. She is also co-founder of GoFireflyGo.com, an online platform that connects women who travel, and a former board member of Branford Community Television. She holds an MBA in Global Management and a BS in Anthropology. Raised in upstate New York, she has lived in eight states and traveled to 23 countries on five continents. Now Brenda is happily settled on the Connecticut shoreline.
GDPR-Compliant Privacy Policy: CAN's priority is advocating for people with limb loss and limb difference. We will never intentionally share your data with anyone for any reason, except to the extent necessary to comply with the law. Details of our GDPR-Compliant Privacy Policy can be viewed here: