Showing posts with label lack of access. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lack of access. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Not being able to get in
Yet another email from a Catholic on wheels whose local parishes all lack access. So sad. Every time I hear about folks who want to go to Mass but can't get inside, I say a prayer that some day our institutions will reflect the true Body of Christ and include all.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Day - NL school funding at risk over ADA | News from southeastern Connecticut
"Not one classroom at New London High School meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
... students [using wheelchairs] must use a lift elevator at the school's loading dock to enter the cafeteria of the 40-year-old building.
"One senior (who is handicapped) ... has not experienced 90 percent of the high school,'' said William Satti, who appeared before the City Council Monday night advocating for his son, a student at the school who is [a wheelchair user] and needs 100 percent care."
Read more....
The Day - NL school funding at risk over ADA | News from southeastern Connecticut
... students [using wheelchairs] must use a lift elevator at the school's loading dock to enter the cafeteria of the 40-year-old building.
"One senior (who is handicapped) ... has not experienced 90 percent of the high school,'' said William Satti, who appeared before the City Council Monday night advocating for his son, a student at the school who is [a wheelchair user] and needs 100 percent care."
Read more....
The Day - NL school funding at risk over ADA | News from southeastern Connecticut
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Suspension after passenger films train employee's refusal to help him board
If you've ever had a bus or train employee refuse to assist you in boarding with a ramp or a lift, you'll be glad to see that action was taken after it happened. An employee in Manchester was suspended after refusing to help a passenger board who needed a ramp after the passenger filmed him. This video shows how difficult it can be to get assistance boarding transit and how unpredictable that help is. Employees argued with the disabled person, citing law and telling him that the police would be coming to try to intimidate the person.
When this happens to me , I always think how they could just go get the ramp or lower it by the time they waste all that energy arguing with me.
Incidents like this happen, where passengers with disabilities are refused assistance and get to their destinations late or are left stranded. It's good to see that action was taken, but not everyone can film it when it happens.
More on this story here.
When this happens to me , I always think how they could just go get the ramp or lower it by the time they waste all that energy arguing with me.
Incidents like this happen, where passengers with disabilities are refused assistance and get to their destinations late or are left stranded. It's good to see that action was taken, but not everyone can film it when it happens.
More on this story here.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Infuriating wheelchair ramps
Indeed they are.
Dave was kind enough to send me a link to these photos of infuriating wheelchair ramps.
I know we've all seen some real beauts, but this collection is worth a thousand words.
Dave was kind enough to send me a link to these photos of infuriating wheelchair ramps.
I know we've all seen some real beauts, but this collection is worth a thousand words.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Oh the fireworks!
Apparently in my hometown, the local fireworks celebration was cut short when a nearby house was set on fire. They decided to forego the finale as firemen rushed to the scene.
Around here, things aren't quite so exciting. The fireworks went off without a hitch. I heard them from my living room. My cat hid in my lap. My nephew tried to find his girl friend in the crowd at the fireworks celebration, texting the entire time. He never did. My other nephew said he wouldn't do that for anyone.
The fireworks will continue all weekend. A major heat wave is on its way for next week. It's going to reach 100. That's not the heat index, but the real temperature, if you're inland.
We escape the heat by playing in fountains. If you're in Savannah, you can't take a wheelchair into the fountains. Wheelchairs, they say, don't belong in fountains. They don't want a wheelchair on a trolley either, even if you take it apart and get out of it. If you can.
In Edmond, Alberta, they say you can't take a wheelchair into an elevator. Then they apologize (after they find out you're a military hero) after you struggled to get down 65 steps.
It's hot out there. Tempers run short. Sometimes the people who think they run the place wind up having to answer to the people who really run the place, but aren't there to run the place. Those of us with disabilities know what that means. It means we get denied access. Or we're told to sit in a corner and wait because we may be in the way. Even if we make noise and get an apology, there isn't justice. There isn't justice until it stops happening.
They may as well say Yankee go home. That, like fireworks, drowns out the rest of the celebration sometimes. We stare up into the sky, the sparkling lights so far above that we're in awe, until things go wrong and a house starts on fire. Then we remember that even fireworks are set off by some guy who may not do it too often, who can make a mistake, who may say he gauged things wrong.
Gauging things wrong can hurt people. It's not a good thing to guess at who's allowed to go where, who has permission to use what. It's illegal to boot. That's called civil rights. Until the average guy and gal who really do run things understand that people with disabilities aren't being troublemakers when they want to live independently just like everyone else, our civil rights are going to be compromised.
Put out the house fire first. That's probably best. When the fireworks stop we can all look down from the sky and remember that it's Independence Day.
For all of us.
Around here, things aren't quite so exciting. The fireworks went off without a hitch. I heard them from my living room. My cat hid in my lap. My nephew tried to find his girl friend in the crowd at the fireworks celebration, texting the entire time. He never did. My other nephew said he wouldn't do that for anyone.
The fireworks will continue all weekend. A major heat wave is on its way for next week. It's going to reach 100. That's not the heat index, but the real temperature, if you're inland.
We escape the heat by playing in fountains. If you're in Savannah, you can't take a wheelchair into the fountains. Wheelchairs, they say, don't belong in fountains. They don't want a wheelchair on a trolley either, even if you take it apart and get out of it. If you can.
In Edmond, Alberta, they say you can't take a wheelchair into an elevator. Then they apologize (after they find out you're a military hero) after you struggled to get down 65 steps.
It's hot out there. Tempers run short. Sometimes the people who think they run the place wind up having to answer to the people who really run the place, but aren't there to run the place. Those of us with disabilities know what that means. It means we get denied access. Or we're told to sit in a corner and wait because we may be in the way. Even if we make noise and get an apology, there isn't justice. There isn't justice until it stops happening.
They may as well say Yankee go home. That, like fireworks, drowns out the rest of the celebration sometimes. We stare up into the sky, the sparkling lights so far above that we're in awe, until things go wrong and a house starts on fire. Then we remember that even fireworks are set off by some guy who may not do it too often, who can make a mistake, who may say he gauged things wrong.
Gauging things wrong can hurt people. It's not a good thing to guess at who's allowed to go where, who has permission to use what. It's illegal to boot. That's called civil rights. Until the average guy and gal who really do run things understand that people with disabilities aren't being troublemakers when they want to live independently just like everyone else, our civil rights are going to be compromised.
Put out the house fire first. That's probably best. When the fireworks stop we can all look down from the sky and remember that it's Independence Day.
For all of us.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Top Ten Ways for Managers to Screw Up Under the ADA
10 . After the corporation spends money building accessible bathrooms that fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, allow janitors to leave heavy and large trash cans in front of the handicap stall door.
9. When told that an employee laughed at a customer with a disability who asked for assistance , laugh at the customer.
8. When asked by the corporation to train employees about how to assist customers under the ADA, rent a wheelchair so they can pop wheelies for an afternoon.
7. While interviewing a potential employee with any disability, speak as loudly as possible.
6. If a customer in a wheelchair says all the aisles in your store are too narrow to pass, casually kick a carton out of the way and say "There you go".
5. When told the bathroom stall isn't wheelchair accessible, tell the customer to just "hold it".
4. When a customer with a disability coming from 300 miles away complains because he reserved a handicap room at your hotel and your clerk gave it to someone else , say in a loud authoritative voice "Well, you're not the only one in the world who is disabled!"
3. When a customer with a disability says that he was refused assistance in your store, call over the employee and ask "Did this person say it was okay with him not to help him?" and nod vigorously to prompt the employee. When the employee says "Yes", tell the customer that he handled it wrong.
2. When someone complains that your store still has no ramp, tell them you're covered under the grandfather clause.
1. When told you're in violation of the ADA, ask "What's that?"
9. When told that an employee laughed at a customer with a disability who asked for assistance , laugh at the customer.
8. When asked by the corporation to train employees about how to assist customers under the ADA, rent a wheelchair so they can pop wheelies for an afternoon.
7. While interviewing a potential employee with any disability, speak as loudly as possible.
6. If a customer in a wheelchair says all the aisles in your store are too narrow to pass, casually kick a carton out of the way and say "There you go".
5. When told the bathroom stall isn't wheelchair accessible, tell the customer to just "hold it".
4. When a customer with a disability coming from 300 miles away complains because he reserved a handicap room at your hotel and your clerk gave it to someone else , say in a loud authoritative voice "Well, you're not the only one in the world who is disabled!"
3. When a customer with a disability says that he was refused assistance in your store, call over the employee and ask "Did this person say it was okay with him not to help him?" and nod vigorously to prompt the employee. When the employee says "Yes", tell the customer that he handled it wrong.
2. When someone complains that your store still has no ramp, tell them you're covered under the grandfather clause.
1. When told you're in violation of the ADA, ask "What's that?"
Sunday, August 30, 2009
New to the blogroll: The Traveling Wheelchair
After spending nearly 20 years in a nursing home, Kenny now has an accessible home. I found his wonderful blog The Traveling Wheelchair, which rates places he goes to in terms of access, on a score of five to zero. This is a great access guide for others traveling in Massachusetts, where most of the recent places seem to be. Kenny describes parking facilities, ramps on beaches and things to do at each place.
There is also a section on DisabilityVoice , where you can get your own web page for advocacy issues.
His blog also contains a lot of disability-related information, including legislation , the ADA, and other links.
I really like his mission statement:
"To help make the world more sensitive, respectful, safer and accessible to all."
There is also a section on DisabilityVoice , where you can get your own web page for advocacy issues.
His blog also contains a lot of disability-related information, including legislation , the ADA, and other links.
I really like his mission statement:
"To help make the world more sensitive, respectful, safer and accessible to all."
Accessing nature
A number of years ago,I was fortunate enough to be able to go with the Ski for Light organization on their summer trip. With assistance, I was able to tandem kayak, enjoy swimming and go on hikes. I'm very grateful for the volunteers who made this possible because, without their help, most of the activities wouldn't have been possible.
Every summer I'd like to participate in these things, but it isn't possible. There aren't enough volunteer organizations around for that to happen and, as a single woman with a disability, those in my life who are willing neither have the time nor energy to help me do things like kayak.
So it was with mixed feelings that I read an article this morning which seems to say that those who advocate for access to the wilderness through "motorized means" are being, well, selfish. The truth is that the only way I get a taste of nature is through my own means, which is my power chair. And, yes, I drive as close as I can to the site if access is an issue because often that's the only way to see things. If it weren't for the paved nature trails around where I live, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the parks around here, for example. As a person with quadriplegia, I do rely on man-made and motorized access to wilderness areas.
Although the author is well meaning by extolling her mother's virtues and talking about her experiences with volunteer organizations and within her own family, I find it rare that friends with disabilities can afford to pay helpers or have available family members to help them access nature and even more rare that they've found a volunteer organization to work with them to do it. The author seems to unnecessarily label people with disabilities as "selfish" for wanting to be able to enjoy the wilderness independently when, quite frankly, that's often the only option for so many.
May I suggest that a better approach for the author would be to engage in dialogue with members of the disability community who disagree with her view, to find out why their needs may differ before assigning labels. Although the people with disabilities she knows have certain views, that doesn't necessarily mean that those who disagree lack humility, as she seems to say. I'd also be curious to see where she wishes to draw these lines in the wilderness where man made access shouldn't be provided. How would she and others who share her views suggest handling a situation where a couple who are both in wheelchairs would like to travel independently by themselves, an often ignored reality?
I'm always reluctant to speak for everyone on these issues, so I'd be interested in hearing what readers have to say about this.
Every summer I'd like to participate in these things, but it isn't possible. There aren't enough volunteer organizations around for that to happen and, as a single woman with a disability, those in my life who are willing neither have the time nor energy to help me do things like kayak.
So it was with mixed feelings that I read an article this morning which seems to say that those who advocate for access to the wilderness through "motorized means" are being, well, selfish. The truth is that the only way I get a taste of nature is through my own means, which is my power chair. And, yes, I drive as close as I can to the site if access is an issue because often that's the only way to see things. If it weren't for the paved nature trails around where I live, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the parks around here, for example. As a person with quadriplegia, I do rely on man-made and motorized access to wilderness areas.
Although the author is well meaning by extolling her mother's virtues and talking about her experiences with volunteer organizations and within her own family, I find it rare that friends with disabilities can afford to pay helpers or have available family members to help them access nature and even more rare that they've found a volunteer organization to work with them to do it. The author seems to unnecessarily label people with disabilities as "selfish" for wanting to be able to enjoy the wilderness independently when, quite frankly, that's often the only option for so many.
May I suggest that a better approach for the author would be to engage in dialogue with members of the disability community who disagree with her view, to find out why their needs may differ before assigning labels. Although the people with disabilities she knows have certain views, that doesn't necessarily mean that those who disagree lack humility, as she seems to say. I'd also be curious to see where she wishes to draw these lines in the wilderness where man made access shouldn't be provided. How would she and others who share her views suggest handling a situation where a couple who are both in wheelchairs would like to travel independently by themselves, an often ignored reality?
I'm always reluctant to speak for everyone on these issues, so I'd be interested in hearing what readers have to say about this.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Safe Haven
A 12 year old boy, Joseph Martin, will be able to take his wheelchair into his bedroom for the first time in his life and become more self sufficient, thanks to a project by Rebuilding Together. Joseph, who lives with his single mother Mary and sisters Holly and Rebekah, has to be carried up the stairs to his bedroom every night.
Joseph, who is on an able-bodied swim team, and likes to ski, carve and fly-fish, has had 39 surgeries. He was diagnosed with cloacal exstrophy, spina bifida and chiari malformation.
After his teacher Suzanne Nesbit made a documentary of the lack of access in Joseph's home to send to Oprah, local school officials and community members who viewed it decided not to wait. They found help to build a room with access for Joseph from Rebuilding Together. The project, slated to cost $100,000, is called A Safe Haven.
The aim of the addition is to make Joseph's living quarters accessible in every way.
Joseph, who is on an able-bodied swim team, and likes to ski, carve and fly-fish, has had 39 surgeries. He was diagnosed with cloacal exstrophy, spina bifida and chiari malformation.
After his teacher Suzanne Nesbit made a documentary of the lack of access in Joseph's home to send to Oprah, local school officials and community members who viewed it decided not to wait. They found help to build a room with access for Joseph from Rebuilding Together. The project, slated to cost $100,000, is called A Safe Haven.
The aim of the addition is to make Joseph's living quarters accessible in every way.
A custom-made shower is part of the plans. A washing machine, dryer, stovetop and microwave will be at a level he can reach, and the rooms will be designed so he will always have enough space to turn his wheelchair around.
"This will be a place for him to live independently," said Warren, who will be recruiting volunteers once the project is closer to completion. "Joseph sells this project himself. He and his family have overcome so much, and everybody's embracing it as an opportunity to do something beyond themselves."
All this is huge for Joseph, who seems to have architect Lynn Walker's blueprints memorized. With great detail, he can reel off with preciseness what will be in each of the 1800 square feet of the addition.
His eyes beam as he rehearses the architectural plans.
"I will be able to bring my wheelchair into my room," said Joseph, who presently must be carried up the stairs each day. "And I'll finally be able to close my own door." via newsleader.comMonday, June 29, 2009
In search of....curb cuts?
In this video, Wheelchair Kamikaze, our host of past NY tours, goes in search of the Spirit of Audrey Hepburn statue in New York. However, he winds up spending quite a bit of his ride through NY city looking for curb cuts and facing some mighty big trucks head on....
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The "other kind of access"
I cut back on grocery delivery as part of my recession budgeting, so once a week I pick up a few items to supplement what Meredith picks up. I've been using the store around the corner since it's convenient, but have run into issues with getting assistance from employees with reaching items and other help I need to shop alone.
Yesterday I tried out a ShopRite store a few towns over. The employees were courteous and friendly and very helpful. Because of their assistance in emptying it, I was able to use a basket to carry items. This is something I can't do if employees refuse to assist me. I'll definitely be back to shop there again.
I was listening to the family of a friend with a disability talk about access the other day. They were saying that when their daughter goes out, people learn that access isn't just about ramps. We all need to be mindful that the needs of all of those with disabilities are met, not just those in wheelchairs, for example. Customers who are deaf need a TTY line and blind customers need an accessible website and ATM machines they can use independently.
But in the end technology isn't going to fix everything. Our ability to be out and about and productive depends on others' attitudes toward providing access of other kinds, such as assistance in reaching items over our heads. Legislating this kind of help through the Americans with Disabilities Act hasn't solved the issue, in my opinion. The law is clear that customers should be accommodated, for example, if a business puts items too high or their aisles are too narrow to navigate. Nevertheless, when I request help, it's still hit and miss whether I'll get it.Far too often help is refused or requests are ignored. Sometimes I'm asked to wait so long for assistance that I have to get back to work myself and never get the help I request, so I leave the store. I can follow through on the ADA violation or go to another store to spend my money, but it doesn't solve the bottom line problem, which is yet another inconvenience to deal with, such as driving out of my way to find a store that offers this "other kind of access".
An ally who is nondisabled wrote on a blog that those with disabilities are social pioneers, meaning that we are breaking through barriers by going out and about. I believe this is true. I've created a map in my head of places where there is van access parking and stores and restaurants which offer assistance of all kinds. But the reality is that, like others, I'm always exploring new places and territories, where the landscape, in terms of accommodations, is unknown.
Once in a while, this leads to the discovery of new treasures, like I found yesterday. And I'm grateful to all those out there who have gone before me so that they are out there to be found.
Yesterday I tried out a ShopRite store a few towns over. The employees were courteous and friendly and very helpful. Because of their assistance in emptying it, I was able to use a basket to carry items. This is something I can't do if employees refuse to assist me. I'll definitely be back to shop there again.
I was listening to the family of a friend with a disability talk about access the other day. They were saying that when their daughter goes out, people learn that access isn't just about ramps. We all need to be mindful that the needs of all of those with disabilities are met, not just those in wheelchairs, for example. Customers who are deaf need a TTY line and blind customers need an accessible website and ATM machines they can use independently.
But in the end technology isn't going to fix everything. Our ability to be out and about and productive depends on others' attitudes toward providing access of other kinds, such as assistance in reaching items over our heads. Legislating this kind of help through the Americans with Disabilities Act hasn't solved the issue, in my opinion. The law is clear that customers should be accommodated, for example, if a business puts items too high or their aisles are too narrow to navigate. Nevertheless, when I request help, it's still hit and miss whether I'll get it.Far too often help is refused or requests are ignored. Sometimes I'm asked to wait so long for assistance that I have to get back to work myself and never get the help I request, so I leave the store. I can follow through on the ADA violation or go to another store to spend my money, but it doesn't solve the bottom line problem, which is yet another inconvenience to deal with, such as driving out of my way to find a store that offers this "other kind of access".
An ally who is nondisabled wrote on a blog that those with disabilities are social pioneers, meaning that we are breaking through barriers by going out and about. I believe this is true. I've created a map in my head of places where there is van access parking and stores and restaurants which offer assistance of all kinds. But the reality is that, like others, I'm always exploring new places and territories, where the landscape, in terms of accommodations, is unknown.
Once in a while, this leads to the discovery of new treasures, like I found yesterday. And I'm grateful to all those out there who have gone before me so that they are out there to be found.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Making Churches More Accessible
A video by the N.C. Conference Committee on Disability Concerns looking at how and why to make United Methodist Churches more accessible to persons with disabilities so that they might more fully participate in the life of the congregation. The video also promotes the need for UM Churches to participate in an online accessibility audit to assess what local churches need to do.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Ramp Fail via fail.org
[image description: A short, very steep ramp with the handicap logo on it is shown. A man climbing the ramp has his hands at the top, his left leg in the middle and his right leg at the bottom of the ramp, and his back is almost horizontal.]
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Ah yes, those so called "access" signs!
see more pwn and owned pictures
visual description: a steep concrete staircase is photographed with a sign that shows a handicap logo and the words public toilets beneath it and an arrow pointing down the stairs. The word FAIL is in the upper left side of the photo, which is from failblog.org
h/t Nick's Crusade
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A wheelchair at the inauguration
Outgoing Vice President Cheney apparently injured himself while moving and will be attending the inauguration in a wheelchair.
Of course, Vice President Cheney doesn't have to worry, like the rest of us with disabilities, about the fact that golf carts are being used to transport "people with disabilities" to the inauguration check point areas (thus excluding those who can't transfer into a golf cart or transport their equipment that way), about the "bumpy surfaces, grassy areas, and public transportation at crush capacity" and the fact that there was no serious attempt at planning to include people with disabilities. (See my previous post here with links to other bloggers.)
Of course, Vice President Cheney doesn't have to worry, like the rest of us with disabilities, about the fact that golf carts are being used to transport "people with disabilities" to the inauguration check point areas (thus excluding those who can't transfer into a golf cart or transport their equipment that way), about the "bumpy surfaces, grassy areas, and public transportation at crush capacity" and the fact that there was no serious attempt at planning to include people with disabilities. (See my previous post here with links to other bloggers.)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Standing by
When I heard about Obama's train trip, I remembered the day my father took all of us to watch as Bobby Kennedy made his final journey by train to Washington after his assassination.
We piled into our station wagon. Our mood turned solemn as we joined the silent group standing by the tracks. A few people were wiping their eyes.
My father gazed into the distance, squinting. He had calculated the exact time the train would arrive and, considering his father was a train engineer, I figured he'd be right.
He was. The train appeared on the horizon. It was not traveling fast, nor was it traveling slowly. It seemed surreal, as if the train was floating by. I saw the black bunting and thought I saw a few figures move near the windows. A hand inside waved at the silent crowd.
Moments later as the train chugged into the distance, everyone began to walk back to their cars. "Who was that?" people asked, guessing, naming members of the Kennedy family. "Teddy? Ethel?"
"This is history, kids," my father said, as we trooped back into the car. "This is something you'll always remember."
There are other history lessons I've learned since then, lessons about disability history, for example. I've learned that people with disabilities are still struggling to be included in public events, to be a part of, to have access and achieve the simple act of being able to show up.
I hope many people have the chance to be a part of the upcoming inaugural events. And I pray that future generations of people with disabilities will have a better chance to attend the inauguration. Because what I'll remember from this inauguration is how exclusion because of lack of access and inadequate transportation results in so many people with disabilities not being able to stand by and witness events. And that feels surreal too.
[photo from JFK News and Updates]
[image description: A crowd stands along the train tracks waiting for Robert Kennedy's body as he was transported to Washington DC after his assassination. The crowd includes several nuns, Catholic schoolgirls in uniform, and several families. In the background is a parking lot with cars.]
Monday, January 5, 2009
New year resolution number five: Giving customers with disabilities access and service
Yesterday I ate a meal at a restaurant where I had the best service I've ever had in my life from the waitress, yet we didn't speak the same language. It made me think about how too often we get caught up in the excuse that customers with disabilities don't ask for what they need or ask the wrong way, when so much of the service and accommodations needed are just about common sense.
The Mexican restaurant was in a strip mall, tucked away between two nondescript storefronts. When I rolled in, I saw there were about eight tables inside. The place was busy and there was one waitress, who took orders, bussed the tables, brought the food and seated customers.
The food in front of other customers looked great. I rolled up to a table and the waitress asked me where I'd like to sit and moved the chairs. (Yes, I do speak some Spanish, but there are different dialects and I don't always know the nuances.) She brought me a menu and a diet coke, opened the can and put a straw in at my request - immediately. I didn't have to wait until "someone had time" which often happens. My food was cut up as requested and when my meal was over, she was kind enough to even wash my special eating utensil for me. It was a great dining experience.
In contrast, the day before I stopped in at a different Starbucks than I usually do, in a ritzy mall. The counter was not accessible at any spot, yet none of the staff even "heard" me when I asked them to bring my beverage around to me. Nor did they "hear" me when I needed assistance with opening the cover on the beverage, which required dexterity. After I requested help more than half a dozen times from employees, customers assisted me with those things. [There was also no handicap seating - chairs everywhere that had to be moved which I can't do and the women's bathroom door opened in such a way that my wheelchair became stuck between that door and the door to the men's room.]
Ironically, there was a sign posted at the Starbucks with state phone numbers alerting customers where to report discrimination. By the time an employee came over to me, the customers had already helped me, but I did point the sign out to her and asked to speak to the manager. I was told the manager was too busy, that they were all busy, in a very patronizing manner. This was after no one deigned to even make eye contact with me for ten minutes as I tried to talk to them.
Maybe, just maybe, when we talk about handicap awareness for employees regarding respectful customer service, we need to remember that a large part of it involves a language of the heart. And when it comes to mom and pop businesses, they are often light years ahead in that regard. Not always, but it's food for thought.
The Mexican restaurant was in a strip mall, tucked away between two nondescript storefronts. When I rolled in, I saw there were about eight tables inside. The place was busy and there was one waitress, who took orders, bussed the tables, brought the food and seated customers.
The food in front of other customers looked great. I rolled up to a table and the waitress asked me where I'd like to sit and moved the chairs. (Yes, I do speak some Spanish, but there are different dialects and I don't always know the nuances.) She brought me a menu and a diet coke, opened the can and put a straw in at my request - immediately. I didn't have to wait until "someone had time" which often happens. My food was cut up as requested and when my meal was over, she was kind enough to even wash my special eating utensil for me. It was a great dining experience.
In contrast, the day before I stopped in at a different Starbucks than I usually do, in a ritzy mall. The counter was not accessible at any spot, yet none of the staff even "heard" me when I asked them to bring my beverage around to me. Nor did they "hear" me when I needed assistance with opening the cover on the beverage, which required dexterity. After I requested help more than half a dozen times from employees, customers assisted me with those things. [There was also no handicap seating - chairs everywhere that had to be moved which I can't do and the women's bathroom door opened in such a way that my wheelchair became stuck between that door and the door to the men's room.]
Ironically, there was a sign posted at the Starbucks with state phone numbers alerting customers where to report discrimination. By the time an employee came over to me, the customers had already helped me, but I did point the sign out to her and asked to speak to the manager. I was told the manager was too busy, that they were all busy, in a very patronizing manner. This was after no one deigned to even make eye contact with me for ten minutes as I tried to talk to them.
Maybe, just maybe, when we talk about handicap awareness for employees regarding respectful customer service, we need to remember that a large part of it involves a language of the heart. And when it comes to mom and pop businesses, they are often light years ahead in that regard. Not always, but it's food for thought.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Let it snow....but follow the snow removal laws!
In this video from last winter, a wheelchair user in Denver attempts to travel the three blocks from his home to work, showing how curb cuts and sidewalks and streets are still impassable despite weeks to clear them. Obviously this can happen if snow removal laws aren't set into place and properly enforced.
For those of you new to powerchairs, here's a great article to get you through the winter from Mark Smith over at Wheelchairjunkie. Snow and Powerchairs He discusses these and other questions:
What's the hype and what's the truth about how deep the snow can be? Should you bring someone along and, if so, when, in case you might get stuck? What about salt and snow getting on your power chair?
For those of you new to powerchairs, here's a great article to get you through the winter from Mark Smith over at Wheelchairjunkie. Snow and Powerchairs He discusses these and other questions:
What's the hype and what's the truth about how deep the snow can be? Should you bring someone along and, if so, when, in case you might get stuck? What about salt and snow getting on your power chair?
Monday, November 17, 2008
People like you
Noticed yesterday while reading an article online in the Chicago Sun Times, that my blog post Disabled, Not Disabled from the day after the election appeared in the Chicago Sun Times via Blogburst.
I needed that after finding not one, but two, inaccessible handicapped bathrooms yesterday. Got a pointless, senseless response from one of the managers, who muttered and said "We don't owe people like you nothing."
People like you.
I wasn't shocked or stunned, as I would have been years ago. But I did remember:
Disabled. Not disabled.
Words of hope for a better tomorrow.
I needed that after finding not one, but two, inaccessible handicapped bathrooms yesterday. Got a pointless, senseless response from one of the managers, who muttered and said "We don't owe people like you nothing."
People like you.
I wasn't shocked or stunned, as I would have been years ago. But I did remember:
Disabled. Not disabled.
Words of hope for a better tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Turnstiles
Sometimes living with a disability in a world designed for those without reminds me of turnstiles.
There's just no good way to get through a turnstile in a wheelchair.
I don't have to be able to go through a turnstile to live a productive life. But if there's no physical way to get around a turnstile, it's a problem and it can exclude me from getting some places which can be an obstacle to living a productive life.
It gets very personal and can be very subtle, the way a turnstile works differently for me as a wheelchair user than for someone who can walk through it, assumes he can walk through it and doesn't think about the fact that he can walk through it.
So if I sat in front of a turnstile protesting its existence when there are so many other possibilities for ingress and egress that wouldn't block wheelchair users and others, those who can walk might think that to be absurd, never having experienced the turnstile as anything but an object. They wouldn't see the turnstile as a barrier, nor would they necessarily understand that it would build a bridge toward understanding for them to acknowledge that tearing down that turnstile is the fair and right thing to do for everyone. Because some day maybe they, too, might experience mobility issues.
Perhaps they haven't stopped to consider that there were times I chose to crawl under turnstiles while someone lifted my chair over it rather than be left out. That was when I was closer to my years of living as an able bodied person, when I felt crawling was worth it. That changed when I realized that having to crawl was not acceptable, nor physically advisable.
I began instead to question why we had to have turnstiles.
Not to mention revolving doors.
There's just no good way to get through a turnstile in a wheelchair.
I don't have to be able to go through a turnstile to live a productive life. But if there's no physical way to get around a turnstile, it's a problem and it can exclude me from getting some places which can be an obstacle to living a productive life.
It gets very personal and can be very subtle, the way a turnstile works differently for me as a wheelchair user than for someone who can walk through it, assumes he can walk through it and doesn't think about the fact that he can walk through it.
So if I sat in front of a turnstile protesting its existence when there are so many other possibilities for ingress and egress that wouldn't block wheelchair users and others, those who can walk might think that to be absurd, never having experienced the turnstile as anything but an object. They wouldn't see the turnstile as a barrier, nor would they necessarily understand that it would build a bridge toward understanding for them to acknowledge that tearing down that turnstile is the fair and right thing to do for everyone. Because some day maybe they, too, might experience mobility issues.
Perhaps they haven't stopped to consider that there were times I chose to crawl under turnstiles while someone lifted my chair over it rather than be left out. That was when I was closer to my years of living as an able bodied person, when I felt crawling was worth it. That changed when I realized that having to crawl was not acceptable, nor physically advisable.
I began instead to question why we had to have turnstiles.
Not to mention revolving doors.
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