FISA Foundation

When women and girls are given opportunities to lead and influence decisions that affect their lives, everyone in the community benefits. Yet, many women and girls, especially in historically underserved communities, still face barriers to civic participation and leadership roles.

FISA is proud to highlight our June 2026 grants that support civic engagement and leadership for women and girls through Sisters Saving Ourselves Now, the Professional Women's Network, and the Women and Girls Foundation. These programs are creating pathways for women and girls to build leadership skills, engage with their communities, and drive meaningful change.

Read more about these grants and our full June 2026 grants announcement: https://fisafoundation.org/fisa-awards-june-2026-grants-to-improve-the-lives-of-women-girls-and-people-with-disabilities/

[Image Description: Collage of girls and young women, highlighting FISA’s June 2026 grants supporting civic engagement and leadership opportunities for girls and women.]

Safe housing is essential — yet transgender women, especially Black transgender women and transgender women with disabilities, continue to face significant barriers to securing stable, affirming housing.

FISA Foundation is proud to highlight its June 2026 grants supporting trans and q***r women experiencing housing instability, including Proud Haven’s Step Into Stability Program and SisTers PGH ’s Project T Program.

Read more about these grants and the full June 2026 grants announcement here: https://fisafoundation.org/fisa-awards-june-2026-grants-to-improve-the-lives-of-women-girls-and-people-with-disabilities/

[Image Description: Collage featuring a trans rights mural and TLGBQ+ community members, highlighting FISA’s June 2026 grants supporting trans and q***r women experiencing housing instability.]

This past weekend, we celebrated the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law that expanded access, opportunity, and protections for millions of people with disabilities. While we celebrate this important milestone, we also recognize that there is still work to be done to achieve full and equitable access, particularly in healthcare.

Through FISA Foundation’s Access to Healthcare Initiative, we are working to advance equitable, accessible healthcare for people with disabilities. Read our latest article, A Shared Commitment to Accessible Healthcare, to learn how healthcare providers, community partners, and disability advocates are collaborating to promote health equity and improve access to care for people with disabilities: https://fisafoundation.org/a-shared-commitment-to-accessible-healthcare/

[Image description: A group of FISA grantee partners and staff at a healthcare access gathering. Grantee partners are arranged in rows, with some using mobility aids including wheelchairs and a cane. The image includes text promoting an article about FISA Foundation’s grantee gathering on accessible healthcare.]

Did you catch this? We're excited to share WESA’s feature on The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh’s Health Ambassadors program! Through this innovative program, teens with disabilities use their lived experience to help healthcare providers identify barriers, improve accessibility, and create more inclusive care.

The Health Ambassadors program was selected through FISA’s competitive Access to Healthcare initiative grant process.

Check out the story to see how young leaders are driving meaningful change.

Pittsburgh teens with disabilities help shape more accessible healthcare During a mock appointment to a UPMC adolescent health clinic, a group of Pittsburgh teens stood in as patients. They were actually there as accessibility experts as they are also people living with disabilities.

Too often, women are not fully heard by medical professionals — a reality that can lead to worse health outcomes, especially for women of color, immigrant women, and women with low incomes.

FISA is proud to highlight our June 2026 grants to MAYA Organization and The Midwife Center, which support women’s access to safe, culturally responsive, and inclusive healthcare.

Read more about these grants and the full June 2026 grants announcement here: https://fisafoundation.org/fisa-awards-june-2026-grants-to-improve-the-lives-of-women-girls-and-people-with-disabilities/

[Image Description: Collage featuring a mother and baby, a healthcare visit, and a pregnant woman, highlighting FISA’s June 2026 grants supporting access to safe, culturally responsive, and inclusive healthcare.]

Thank you, Tara Fay Coleman, for this powerful essay connecting public health policy to lived experience. Through the story of her parents, Tara reminds us that poverty, race, disability, and access to care have profound impacts on health and well-being. Her piece is an important call for Pittsburgh to confront longstanding inequities and build a community where everyone has access to the healthcare, supports, and opportunities they need to thrive.

My parents’ premature deaths made public health a personal reality Data shows life expectancy, chronic illness, disability and premature mortality remain sharply stratified by race, income and neighborhood.

We’re thrilled to see Southwestern Pennsylvania members of Pennsylvania’s new Disability Commission featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette! This talented group of leaders brings deep experience, advocacy, and community knowledge to the Commission’s work. Congratulations to Monica Albert Still, Chaz Kellem, Hunter Steinitz, former FISA board member Rachel Kallem Whitman, Ondrea Burton, Lori Roberts, and Michelle Walker. Their advocacy and lived expertise will help elevate the voices and priorities of the disability community throughout Pennsylvania.

Read the article to learn more: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2026/07/16/new-disability-commission-pa/stories/202607190017?fbclid=IwY2xjawTHVSpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEwaGUxMmtrTDJNNVN2U0l2c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgHKb_VEW4b2Ov_nj2a-myjyqsAASoPOG1PsSe-uILVCctFXY6witP1skvVP_aem_1Q3Dz7L2OUO_dw-tR9_Bew

Gov. Josh Shapiro earlier this month announced the creation of a new disability commission tasked with understanding accessibility issues across the state, giving perspectives on living with a disability and recommending policy changes to legislators.

With 28 people appointed to the new Advisory Commission on People with Disabilities, Pennsylvania joins a handful of other states — Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and New Hampshire among them — in having disability committees to inform policymakers of community needs.

Seven of those appointees are regional: five from Allegheny County and two from Beaver County.

Link in the comments to read more. ⬇️

Understanding Pennsylvania’s long-term care systems shouldn’t be complicated.

Join Project Beyond Definition and the Pennsylvania Health Law Project on July 20 at 6 PM ET for a virtual town hall exploring the differences between the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), who they serve, and how these systems can better support people with developmental disabilities.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1817839736534/WN_ctSVt4qVQGSD4I9noy5fKQ

https://mailchi.mp/phlp/beyonddefinition?e=1f41792fad

Virtual Town Hall 7/20: Register Now!

In June, the FISA Foundation awarded $740,000 in grants to 17 organizations dedicated to advancing safety, opportunities, and access for women, girls, and people with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania. These grants address critical community needs, including healthcare, safe housing, legal aid, educational support, leadership development, and disability advocacy. We are grateful to partner with organizations that lead with compassion, embrace innovation, and listen closely to the communities they serve. Read the full June 2026 grants announcement here: https://fisafoundation.org/fisa-awards-june-2026-grants-to-improve-the-lives-of-women-girls-and-people-with-disabilities/

Casa San José CASA of Allegheny County East Suburban Citizen Advocacy Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation PATF MAYA Organization Proud Haven The Midwife Center Sisters Saving Ourselves Now/Pittsburgh-Western PA Black Women's Roundtable
Women's Law Project Pittsburghers for Public Transit SisTers PGH POWER The Women and Girls Foundation The Children's Home of Pittsburgh PWN Greater Valley Community Services, Inc. Youth Advocacy Clinic at Duquesne University

[Image Description: A three-slide graphic announcing FISA Foundation’s June 2026 grantees. The first slide includes three photos: a pregnant Black woman standing with her hands on her belly; a home health aide and a girl in a lift smiling; and a Black girl studying. Text at the bottom reads, “FISA Foundation June 2026 Grantees.” The second and third slides feature the logos of the 17 grantee organizations.]

Celebrate Disability Pride at PNC Park!
This Sunday, July 12, the Pittsburgh Pirates are hosting Disability Pride Day to support disability pride and inclusion. Join the celebration, connect with community, and cheer on the Bucs for an afternoon of baseball and festivities.
Get tickets and learn more:

Disability Pride Day | Pittsburgh Pirates Join the Pittsburgh Pirates for Disability Pride Night at PNC Park.