FISA Foundation

12/23/2025

Check out FISA’s incredible webinar series, Breaking Barriers: Dialogues on Healthcare Access for People with Disabilities! This series is part of our Access to Healthcare Initiative and engages experts in disability and healthcare fields to share key resources and innovations in accessible healthcare. All conversations are recorded and available on FISA’s website with captions and ASL: https://fisafoundation.org/access-to-health-care-initiative/ -barriers-webinars

12/18/2025

Congratulations to Disability Lead's inaugural SWPA Institute cohort!

FISA is thrilled for these amazing disabled leaders to build their networks, expand their leadership skills, and bring their expertise to positions of power and influence across sectors in the Pittsburgh region!

12/15/2025

At FISA’s annual December holiday program, current and former board members learned about the remarkable accessibility improvements our grantee partner, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, has undertaken to make Frick Park a more inclusive place for all visitors.

In the first photo, Assistive Resources and Accessibility Coordinator, Tress Belesi, explains the assistive technology and adaptive resources available to Frick Park visitors for free through the lending library: https://pittsburghparks.org/lending-library

We also heard about the amazing success of the Trackchair pilot program! These all-terrain wheelchairs will have their full program launch in the Spring of 2026. Additionally, we heard about the innovative accessible stations and signage throughout Frick Park's Outdoor Discovery Space and Sensory Nature Trail: https://pittsburghparks.org/odssnt/

FISA is honored to have supported these investments in accessibility.

12/11/2025

Being meaningfully employed as a person with a disability can be a tricky balance to ensure that necessary benefits can continue, and any reduction in them is not a surprise.
In Rich Lord’s recent article for Pittsburgh’s PublicSource, “Why John’s Funky Inflatables shouldn’t blow up his disability benefits,” Lord highlights a common balancing act for people with disabilities. Read more:

A McCandless man builds a life around inflatables while navigating disability benefits, work opportunities and employment rules.

12/09/2025

“There's a lot of people like me who are out there now fighting the good fight, because he mentored us and gave us the strength and the power to go out on our own and start fighting.” - Alisa Grishman, founder and director of Access Mob Pittsburgh
WESA shared a beautiful remembrance of Paul O'Hanlon and his impact on accessible housing, transit, and voting. FISA was honored to have worked with Paul over the years and to have him speak at our Disability Inclusion & Access event. FISA is proud to continue to support organizations deeply impacted by Paul, including Pittsburghers for Public Transit, of which Paul was a founding member.

For decades, Paul O’Hanlon was a pillar in Pittsburgh-area advocacy efforts for better public transit, as well as voting rights, disability rights and affordable housing.

12/08/2025

FISA Foundation is proud to announce our October 2025 grants! FISA awarded grants to 11 organizations serving women, girls, and people with disabilities.

Grantees in this cycle are addressing the economic disparities experienced by Black women and people with disabilities, protecting healthcare and reproductive rights, and advocating for inclusive and equitable education.

FISA praises these organizations for their impact on systematically disenfranchised communities in southwestern PA. Read the full October 2025 grants announcement here: https://fisafoundation.org/fisa-awards-october-2025-grants-to-uplift-women-girls-and-people-with-disabilities/

ACTION-Housing, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, Pennsylvania Health Law Project, PPWP--Planned Parenthood of Western PA, The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh, City Mission - Living Stones, Inc., Education Law Center, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, Opportunity Fund, Pittsburgh Center for Disability Justice

[image description: First image features blue and yellow shapes and FISA logo with the text “FISA Foundation Announces October 2025 Grantees!” Remaining images feature blue and yellow shapes and the logos of grantees]

12/03/2025

December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. On this day, we celebrate the rights of people with disabilities and recognize the need for continued advocacy and awareness to address systemic issues.
At FISA Foundation, we remain committed to advancing justice, safety, and opportunity for people with disabilities, especially those who have multiple identities that society marginalizes.

12/02/2025

Thank you to Autism Connection of Pennsylvania for sharing this incredible tribute to Pittsburgh disability rights advocate, Paul O'Hanlon

12/01/2025

FISA is excited to highlight the passing of the CROWN Act! This will amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit racial discrimination based on hair type, texture, or protective hairstyles, such as locs, braids, twists, coils, Bantu knots, cornrows, afros, and extensions, which are typically associated with Black women and girls. Learn more about CROWN Protections in the post below from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission:

11/25/2025

"Transportation is one of the most overlooked but devastatingly impactful challenges facing the disability community."

Transportation shapes so much of our daily lives—it affects how we stay connected, find jobs, get to healthcare, and so much more.

In the article below, written by former FISA Board member, Tina Calabro and featured in Achieva's Magazine, Tina highlights the importance of accessible transportation and what can be done to address this vital need.

What if getting to a doctor’s appointment… a job interview… or even a fun night out felt impossible? For many people with disabilities, it is.

In a powerful piece from our fall magazine, Achieva Board Member and parent advocate Tina Calabro explains why transportation access must be a disability-rights priority - and how Achieva is stepping up with an on-demand mobility initiative.

https://www.achieva.info/blog/why-transportation-access-must-be-a-disability-rights-priority

Image Description: Mark Steidl, a smiling young man using a power wheelchair, is positioned on the lift of an accessible van. He is flanked by two adults—his mother Tina Calabro is standing beside the open van door on his left and their friend Rick is standing to his right. All three are smiling and are outdoors on a city street, with buildings and trees in the background.

11/24/2025

"Small business owner Tori Baggot, who lives in Pittsburgh, said that without the enhanced tax credits, her monthly [healthcare] premium costs will go from $197 to $365 come January.

'It’s pretty intense and I’m trying to figure it out,' she said. 'I needed to keep this coverage because I have chronic health problems and I need to stay within the network of all the doctors that I have currently'."

Affordable and accessible healthcare is vital to managing chronic conditions and disabilities. As noted in FISA's report, A Far Cry From Fair: Health-care Access for People with Disabilities, the cost of care and finding providers who can meet the needs of people with disabilities are major barriers to receiving adequate care.

Read the full article from WESA and WHYY about the impact on Pennsylvanians with the changes to the ACA Tax Credits: https://www.wesa.fm/health-science-tech/2025-11-17/pa-aca-health-insurance

Learn more about FISA's Access to Healthcare Initiative: https://fisafoundation.org/access-to-health-care-initiative/

Decades after federal law required healthcare to be accessible, people with disabilities continue to report widespread barriers and pervasive discrimination. In 2024, FISA Foundation launched an initiative to shed light on the barriers and issues that people with disabilities encounter in healthcare...