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Council recognizes MS Awareness Month and honors Foster Forward leader Lisa Gillette
Summary
The Providence City Council declared March as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month and congratulated Lisa Gillette of Foster Forward on a national 'Woman of the Year' honor, citing local programs that support youth exiting foster care.
The Providence City Council on March 20 adopted a resolution recognizing March as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month and passed a separate resolution honoring Lisa Gillette, executive director of the nonprofit Foster Forward, on being named USA Today’s 2025 Woman of the Year.
Councilwoman Anna Peterson read the MS resolution and recounted the impacts of multiple sclerosis, noting that treatments manage symptoms but no cure exists. She warned that recent federal funding shifts could stall research: Peterson said that a congressionally directed program for MS research, funded through the Department of Defense and supported at about $20 million for certain programs, is a critical funding stream for veterans and that reductions could affect access to medicines and research progress. Peterson said some treatments can cost roughly $65,000 annually and that out-of-pocket costs for patients can range from hundreds to thousands per treatment.
On the recognition for Foster Forward, council members praised Lisa Gillette’s work building services for youth exiting foster care, citing programs that provide housing, education supports and career readiness. A council member noted the Taunton Avenue Collaborative and other local partnerships that have produced housing units and services for young adults aging out of foster care.
Both resolutions were approved as part of a group of items the council advanced; the clerk recorded that items 34 through 37 passed with 14 ayes.
