FISA Foundation

Are you committed to making the world better, safer, more fair and equitable and inclusive? Then consider working with us. FISA is #hiring a new Communications Associate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Research shows that people with disabilities are 70% more likely than their peers without disabilities to report that they could not get health care that they needed because of the costs. Financial barriers leave too many without essential care. Learn more about FISA’s report, A Far Cry From Fair which combines scholarly research with voices of people with disabilities raising awareness on the financial and attitudinal barriers disabled people face in accessing equitable care: https://lnkd.in/exVFYSwn #Access2HealthCareSWPA Citations: Barkil-Oteo A, Stern DA, Arbuckle MR. Addressing the cost of health care from the front lines of psychiatry. JAMA Psychiatry [Internet]. 2014/04/04. 2014;71(6):619–20. Available from: https://lnkd.in/d8GSQAB articlepdf/1852598/yvp140002.pdf Singhal A, Borrelli B. Dental Disparities and Psychological Distress Among Mobility-Impaired Adults. Am J Prev Med [Internet]. 2017;52(5):645–52. Available from: https://lnkd.in/dEMQ4tdD S0749379716305505?via%3Dihub?

Our grantee partner Gwen's Girls and the Black Girls Equity Alliance (BGEA) operate the Caring Connections for YOUth initiative, a community-led initiative that provides access to supports and services to any youth, up to age 18, living in Allegheny County as a pre-arrest diversion option to ensure that kids and families get the support they need to avoid becoming involved in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems. Learn more about this important initiative: https://cc4youth.org/

Don’t forget to register for next week’s Race and Disability webinar! Our panelists will discuss how exclusionary school discipline policies disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities. Title: Race, Disability, and Discipline: Keeping Students Safe and Addressing Disparities in School Discipline. Date and Time: March 20 from 2-3:30 PM ET Register here: https://lnkd.in/efYV33u9 FISA Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation ACLU of Pennsylvania, 412 Justice, Learning Disabilities Association of America

To help prepare youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) for their health care transition, six toolkits were developed through a joint effort between LifeCourse Nexus (Charting the LifeCourse), Family Voices, Inc. - National, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and Got Transition. The toolkits aim to help teens and young adults learn and get ready for moving to adult health care and living a healthy adult life. Access the toolkits here: https://lnkd.in/eTz-e_kq Thank you, Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center for sharing this resource on our feed!

In celebration of Women's History Month this March, join the Women and Girls Foundation for an empowering panel discussion about the intersections of disability justice and healthcare. Panelists include: Amanda Neatrour,?Dr. Josie Badger, Natalie Bencivenga, and Erin Willman. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eRh3NA7c

March 8 is International Women’s Day. On this day, we celebrate the leadership and resilience of women and girls, especially women who face systemic barriers to equity and inclusion. At FISA Foundation, we remain committed to advancing justice, safety, and opportunity for all women, girls, and people with disabilities, embracing their multifaceted identities—including trans women, disabled women, and women of color.

There’s still time to register for FISA’s upcoming webinar on Access to Healthcare for People with Disabilities! Join us on March 12 at 12 PM for “Advancing Disability Equity in Healthcare: A Dialogue with Dr. Megan Morris.” Dr. Megan Morris will share insights from her work at the Disability Equity Collaborative (DEC). The DEC is the nation’s leading organization providing evidence-based knowledge and practical solutions and tools to address the complex problems in disability access in healthcare. This will be the first webinar in the “Breaking Barriers: Dialogues on Healthcare Access” series this spring, featuring conversations with disability experts sharing strategies and practices implemented to improve healthcare access and quality of care for people with disabilities. Register for March 12 Here: https://lnkd.in/eAY8P5xR Check out DEC’s work here: ?https://lnkd.in/eQhPm_B5 ?

The Race and Disability webinar series is back in 2025! Join us on March 20 from 2-3:30 PM ET for “Race, Disability, and Discipline: Keeping Students Safe and Addressing Disparities in School Discipline.” This webinar will feature an important discussion on the school-to-prison pipeline, featuring insights from Harold Jordan of ACLU of Pennsylvania, Angel Gober of 412 Justice, and Monica McHale-Small of the Learning Disabilities Association of America.?Our panelists will present data and testimonies on how exclusionary school discipline policies disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities. Panelists will also discuss what schools can do to protect students’ rights. Register now: https://lnkd.in/efYV33u9 The Race and Disability initiative is sponsored by FISA Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and The Pittsburgh Foundation.

This week: Join Women and Girls Foundation and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 7 for the Accelerate Action International Women’s Day event, featuring a FREE community panel of local women leaders who are igniting change on critical issues. After, there will be a ticketed luncheon featuring keynote speaker Lulu Garcia-Navarro. ? Date: Friday, March 7 | 9 a.m. panel discussion and 11:30 a.m. luncheon Location: Point Park University The community panel will be moderated by FISA Foundation Executive Director, Kristy Trautmann. Panelists include: Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together Executive Director Sydney Etheredge, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania President & CEO Dr. Müge Finkel, Director of Ford Institute for Human Security, co-director of Gender Inequality Research Lab (GIRL) and assistant professor of international development and program director of the Master of International Development Program at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) Rochelle Jackson L. Jackson, founding CEO of Black Women's Policy Center Register here: https://lnkd.in/e38rcxGn