San Mateo, CA, May 1st, 2024 – The WITH Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are pleased to award $397,500 across four different organizations as a result of a July 2023 RFP. These grants will fund programs that support healthcare equity in communities of color for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“We are honored to support these vital projects that bridge the gap in healthcare equity for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly within communities of color. This underserved population faces significant barriers to receiving quality care. By supporting these initiatives, we further empower communities and transform healthcare systems,” said Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation.
“Advancing health equity for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities is critical to achieving a culture of health. The organizations these grants will support are moving our country towards this goal,” said Patrick Cokley, Senior Program Officer, Equity and Social Justice Partnerships at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The following four organizations will receive this funding:
Disability Voices United, Los Angeles, CA
The Right to Care project from Disability Voices United will enable older adults of color with developmental disabilities to lead statewide advocacy efforts to require regional centers and their contracted service providers to ensure the people they serve receive appropriate and comprehensive primary health care. DVU will train the self-advocates, empower them to use their stories as agents of systemic change, and connect them with policymakers and the media to expose the desperate need for these new standards. DVU will also build and lead the “Our Right to Care” statewide advocacy coalition of groups representing BIPOC communities, disability rights organizations, healthcare providers, and other groups.
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
The Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) of Wayne State University will design, implement, and evaluate a health equity training curriculum, titled “Improving Healthcare Equity for Older Adults with I/DD in Communities of Color”, for primary care health professionals and trainees that focuses on the intersectionality of disability and aging in communities of color. The expertise and leadership of people with lived experience will be integral to every aspect of the project. A robust sustainability plan will be created to ensure this important training serves as a springboard to future collaborative work on intersectionality with a commitment to innovation, cultural humility, and addressing power imbalances.
Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
The Stanford School of Medicine’s IDD TRANSFORM – Aging and Equity task force will create transformative, patient-driven change empowering people of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Using a design thinking-based approach, the task force will review existing data, identify gaps, discuss, and identify IDD-accessible approaches to collect data and address challenges, and propose a road map for the future including needed research and policy initiatives. The results will be disseminated in 1) plain language summaries; 2) virtual health forums co-hosted with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities task force members; and 3) a white paper published in an academic medical journal.
Positive Exposure, New York, NY
Positive Exposure will create an educational resource for Primary Care Physicians and students prioritizing the needs and experiences of older adults of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities, while promoting cultural competency and disability justice in healthcare. This resource includes two FRAMES (Faces Redefining the Arts of Medical Education) films, a photo exhibition, and a discussion guide. Interviews with self-advocates, their support network, and those who champion the care for aging adults of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities will confront racism, ableism, and discrimination, as well as address cultural humility and best practices.
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WITH Foundation (WITH) promotes comprehensive healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities in the United States that is designed to address their unique and fundamental needs.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to improving health and health equity in the United States. RWJF is working with others to build a Culture of Health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for health and wellbeing, regardless of who they are, where they live, or how much money they make.
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Press Contact: Sofia Webster
Director of Communications, WITH