So, what's the deal with Open Wide and the Pad Patrol? FRIDA has two new campaigns being initiated in this very busy month of September. The first, Open Wide, is a campaign to survey and increase the accessibility of hospitals in the Chicago area. That includes physical building accessibility but also covers the accessibility of diagnostic equipment and the accessibility of services provided. The second campaign, the Pad Patrol, addresses the underground problem of women in nursing homes and institutions being forced to pay for sanitary napkins out of their SSI money (they only get a $30 allowance each month). In addition, the Pad Patrol seeks to bring to light the fact that many women with disabilities are still being sterilized or put on a birth control program without their full consent, so as to lessen or eliminate their periods. They are being denied their right to choose how to manage their menstrual cycles. The Pad Patrol is initiating a drive to collect the stories of these women and to collect pads and tampons to distribute to women with disabilities in need of them. If you would like to donate some pads or tampons, please send them to FRIDA c/o Sarah Triano, 614 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago IL 60607. FRIDA can also take checks or cash to pay for these items; checks should be made out to FRIDA with a note for "pads and tampons". Smile. Thanks for listening out there.