Meeting The Needs Of A Diverse Community

(WWJ) Like many other groups, access to health care is a top priority for the urban American Indian. Cultural sensitivity is one barrier according to Joe Podlasek, Executive Director of the American Indian Center in Chicago. Another, he says, is access to the knowledge base, getting the information to the elderly. Then, there’s the additional problem of transportation

Podlasek, of Ojibwa and Polish descent, thinks the government must also look at re-allocation of funds set aside for use by American Indians. Most, he says, are tribal-specific. Seventy percent of American Indians now live off the reservation, but still consider themselves part of their tribe.

Podlasek, also President of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, spoke during a recent AARP Conference in Chicago and says policies are starting to change.

Listen to WWJ Newsradio 950’s Pat Sweeting’s interview with Mr. Podlasek:

The website for the American Indian Center in Chicago is: http://www.aic-chicago.org or call AIC-Chicago at (773) 275-5871.

The North American Indian Association of Detroit: http://www.NAIADetroit.org/ or call (313) 535-2966.