Frances Isbell (’17) has been selected as one of 16 graduate students of the inaugural class of the Albert Schweitzer Fellows.
The fellows will receive $2,500 and spend the next year learning how to effectively address the social factors that impact health, while developing lifelong leadership skills.
“We are confident that the Alabama Schweitzer program will make a lasting impact on the health of communities in and around Birmingham, Alabama, as our fellows first learn to serve and support vulnerable people in living healthier lives, and then take those skills with them when they establish themselves professionally as leaders in their field,” said Kristin Boggs, Director of the Alabama chapter of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
As part of her fellowship, Isbell will open an Alabama chapter of NMD United, a non-profit association composed of adults living with neuromuscular disabilities that provides resources to promote independence, so that she can help create a network for teens and adults with neuromuscular conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She also will organize pro bono legal clinics, aimed at helping that population access the resources they need to live independently.
“I thought this would be an opportunity for me to do that because it provides a network that allows me to work with other professionals trying to do similar goals,” Isbell said. “Also, it provides funding to bring in speakers and help with outreach projects.”
Isbell plans to develop and present financial planning workshops for individuals with disabilities so that they can learn about the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, or the ABLE Act. Individuals with disabilities face financial challenges, but they often do not have access to the same financial planning tools as other Americans who are planning for college and retirement. The ABLE Act is designed to ease financial challenges faced by individuals with disabilities by making tax-free savings accounts available to cover qualified expenses such as education, housing and transportation.
“It’s really going to impact the disability community in the next few years, so I want to do an outreach project because most people haven’t even heard of the accounts,” she said.
Isbell’s project will provide a much-needed resource to an underserved community. Individuals with neuromuscular conditions often face challenges in everyday activities, including transportation, voting, finding housing and applying for Social Security.
“Frances’s community service project will create a network in which persons with neuromuscular conditions and others can share information that helps to overcome barriers to life’s opportunities and resources,” said Jamie Leonard, Vice Dean of the Law School, who specializes in disability law.
Organizing the pro bono clinics will fill a gap in the current legal services accessible to people with disabilities and enable them to live more independently.
“Frances came to law school with a passion for disability rights law, and she has pursued this passion from day one,” said Glory McLaughlin, Assistant Dean for Public Interest. “Due to her dedication to this area of law, she is uniquely suited to recognize the most pressing needs of people living with disabilities and to create effective programs for meeting those needs.”
The 16 Alabama fellows will join about 240 other 2016-17 Schweitzer Fellows working at program sites across the nation, as well as one in Lambaréné, Gabon, at the site of The Albert Schweitzer Hospital, founded by Dr. Schweitzer in 1913. Upon completion of their fellowship year, the 2016-17 Alabama Schweitzer Fellows will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life and join a vibrant network of more than 3,200 Schweitzer alumni who are skilled in, and committed to, addressing the health needs of underserved people throughout their careers.
