User:Megalibrarygirl/Helen Levin

Helen Phillips Levin (c. 1925 - January 1985) was

Biography
Levin grew up in Minneapolis and married Jack Levin in 1941. After World War II, the couple moved to Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Levin contracted polio in 1951 and complications from the virus caused her to become paralyzed. She went through physical therapy and learned new ways to run the household and take care of her children.

In 1976, Levin began to volunteer for the Westside Community for Independent Living (now the Disability Community Resource Center). In addition, she went back to school, applying at the University of Southern California (USC). Levin was one of the school's first disabled students.

Levin, along with family, friends and help from the city, donated a building for the Westside Community for Independent Living in 1977. The building is now named the Phillips Levin building in her honor. She was appointed to the Los Angeles Architectural Barriers Committee and became the chair during 1978 and 1979. In 1981, Levin earned her masters degree in social work. After earning her degree, she went to work as a staff therapist for the Suicide Prevention Center's Life Clinic.

Levin died in her home in January of 1985 after suffering respiratory problems. In 2014, USC established a scholarship in her name.