Women with Disabilities Call for Better Access to Health Care

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - HealthIn 1991, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago opened the Women with Disabilities Center, the first clinic in Chicago run by women and for women and girls with disabilities. For years, it was the only health clinic in Chicago that was physically accessible to women with disabilities and that was staffed by people who had some knowledge of disability. The clinic closed in 2009, leaving women and girls with disabilities with no quality health care options. The void is still felt four years later. To highlight the health care disparities that face women with disabilities, the Empowered Fe Fes led a march through the University of Illinois Medical District on Friday, Oct. 11th. Fulani Thrasher, a community organizer for the Empowered Fe Fes organized the march with Judy Panko Reis, the founder of the Women with Disabilities. To expose the issue of health care disparities, the Fe Fe’s rallied on the UIC campus. The Empowered Fe Fe’s are a young women’s disability advocacy group and a part of the Power To The People coalition at Access Living.

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