Catch up on Monmouth's Accessibility Workshop #1

[0:00] Okay. Well, welcome everyone. My name is Suzanne Duffner. I am the community and

[0:06] economic development director for the city of Monmouth and I am so excited to see you all

[0:11] today this morning on this gray Monday morning. It's just very impressed you've all come out

[0:17] and talk about this very important subject. So, thank you so much for that. This has been

[0:22] an idea in the making for a number of years now. We've identified a need through our businesses

[0:28] to talk more about accessibility and how to make our businesses more accessible. So,

[0:33] just so happy to to be here and see this coming to fruition. So, by way of background information,

[0:41] the city of Monmouth received a grant from Travel Oregon and this grant is providing resources for

[0:50] this workshop and we'll have another one this spring. And then it's also helping fund

[0:55] consultants through Sparklet Designs and Empowering Access to help us do 20 to 25

[1:04] accessibility assessments for our businesses that are helping visitors and tourists to our area. So,

[1:12] we feel very fortunate to to receive those funds. And we've got a great workshop planned for you

[1:18] today. We have a number of local experts that are going to be talking about sharing their knowledge

[1:23] and talking about different subjects. So, thank you for that. There'll be an opportunity to speak

[1:28] more one-on-one with the panelists as well. And we have a number of refreshments, coffee,

[1:34] tea available. So, at any time, feel free to to help yourself to that. For those who aren't

[1:38] familiar with this building, there are restrooms just out in the hallway straight out here. So,

[1:44] if you need to to use those facilities. And we did have a questionnaire. I don't know if you caught

[1:49] this as you were walking in. We are asking folks if they could take just a few minutes to fill out

[1:54] that questionnaire. Emily's holding up the paper copies in the back. You can also scan the QR code

[2:01] that's on this screen. And that will just help give us some information

[2:06] on your questions and help with the the panelist discussion later. So all right. Well, without

[2:12] further ado, I'd like to introduce our keynote speaker this morning. It's Karen Olsen with the

[2:19] Willamette Valley Visitors Association. Karen is a sixth generation Willamette Valley resident

[2:25] and a passionate advocate for equity, inclusion, and accessibility in Oregon's tourism industry.

[2:31] She serves as destination development manager for the Willamette Valley Visitors Association

[2:37] and was previously communications director for the Oregon Coast Visitors Association. Outside work,

[2:43] Karen invests in art and community through serving on the board of Gallery Theater in McMinnville,

[2:48] Oregon. I can just say when Tori and I reached out to Karen to to meet her and introduce our project,

[2:55] she was so excited and enthusiastic about what we were doing and just jumped right in with helped

[3:01] us with resources. And so I'm just so pleased and thrilled to to have her here today to speak

[3:07] to you more about accessibility. All right, take it away. Thanks, Karen. Thank you. And thank you

[3:14] for inviting me to join you today. I'm honored to be part of this workshop and so excited that the

[3:19] city of Monmouth is offering this opportunity and this training and yeah, I'm excited about that.

[3:31] wrong way. Did I go the wrong way?

[3:36] There we go. Okay. So, I would like to just begin by saying I'm not an expert

[3:42] in accessibility. What brings me to this work is my work in the hospitality and travel field. And

[3:50] the whole heart of hospitality and travel is welcome. And so what I've come to realize

[3:56] is that if we're not prepared to welcome all people with all abilities and all disabilities,

[4:01] then we're not really ready to be hospitable and we're not really ready to be welcoming.

[4:05] And so that's my personal foundation and what has led me to be part of this effort to make Oregon

[4:11] more accessible and especially more accessible for travelers but also for our own community members.

[4:17] And so that's kind of my personal foundation and what has led me to be part of this effort.

[4:22] But I bring one perspective and one lived experience and everyone's experience is different.

[4:27] Everyone's expertise is different. So, I am so glad there's such a rich diversity of people

[4:32] here with different experiences and expertises that you get to hear from and learn from. And

[4:37] there's a very good chance that I'll get something wrong or say something that is different than your

[4:40] experience. And so, I'm also here to be a learner and I'm happy to be on this journey with you and

[4:47] be corrected when I make a mistake. So I just want to start with that framework and also say

[4:53] in my presentation I've used a variety of language where I've cited sources I have chosen to use

[5:00] the language that the source uses. So sometimes that is person first language you know saying

[5:05] a person with a disability and sometimes that's identity first language a disabled person. And so

[5:12] you'll see my presentation go back and forth between those two ways of speaking. But every 

[5:18] individual person has their own preference and so it's important to honor what they would like you

[5:22] to use when it comes to language and that's kind of my approach when I prepared this presentation.

[5:28] Okay, so those housekeeping things taken care of. I'd like to just share a little bit about

[5:34] why accessibility is so important. And again, I come from a travel and hospitality perspective,

[5:39] but I think it's applicable to anybody who's welcoming the public into their place, whether

[5:44] that's a business, a school, a house of worship, a community organization or center. Accessibility

[5:50] matters. And I'd hope to share with you why and, you know, encourage you on this journey.

[5:55] Encourage you to keep doing this work, and making your your work in your community more accessible.

[6:03] If it wasn't apparent to you, disability affects many of us. The statistics are pretty incredible.

[6:10] 1.3 billion people in the world experience some kind of disability directly. And you

[6:15] can extrapolate out from that how many more people experience disability with a friend,

[6:21] a family member or a loved one. In the US almost 30% of adults have some form of disability

[6:28] and more than 25% of households have somebody with a disability in their family. So there's

[6:34] a very good chance that you or someone that you care about is directly impacted by disability. So

[6:40] right away we can see accessibility has a close impact on us in our own personal lives and our own

[6:46] family members. But if it doesn't directly impact you already, disability might impact you someday.

[6:53] Disability is something that any of us can acquire at any time in our lives, no matter who we are

[6:59] and what our background is. It's a minority group that anyone can join at any point in their life.

[7:04] And so, disabilities could be temporary. You fall and break your leg and you're temporarily

[7:12] have a mobility disability and temporarily need to use a mobility assistant like crutches or

[7:16] a knee scooter or a wheelchair. Or it could be a permanent disability, something that's going

[7:21] to continue to impact you or be long lasting. And as we age, we become more and more likely

[7:27] to acquire a disability or acquire an additional disability. So if we live long enough, most of

[7:33] us will experience disability directly. And so this is personal. You know, if it's not already

[7:37] personal to you, there's a very good chance it will become personal to you at some point or to a

[7:42] loved one or a friend. And there are many kinds of disability. So, just again thinking most broadly

[7:49] about all the different ways we can be disabled. Cognition disability, mobility disability,

[7:56] independent living disabilities, hearing disabilities, vision disabilities, self-care

[8:01] disabilities. You can see that these are really broad umbrellas. And so when we think expansively

[8:06] about what disability can mean, it does encompass many of us in our lived experiences.

[8:13] And not all visible disabilities are visible or apparent. And so I think

[8:18] a foundational thing when we're talking about accessibility is not to assume.

[8:22] And so you can't assume by looking at someone that they are or are not disabled. You can't assume

[8:27] what kind of supports they might want or need just by looking at someone. And so, a foundational

[8:33] principle of all hospitality, but especially of accessible hospitality and accessible business is

[8:40] to approach every interaction with kindness and respect and without assuming. And when in doubt,

[8:46] ask what someone needs, but then honor their answer. So never assume you know more or you

[8:53] know what someone doesn't know about themself. Let them lead you and how they would like to

[8:58] be treated and how they would like to be cared for, but always lead with kindness and respect.

[9:06] I wanted to share this quote. It's a little wordy, but this statement from the United Nations

[9:12] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I feel like really highlights

[9:16] something important. It says disability results from the interaction between

[9:20] persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full

[9:26] and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. And so it's important

[9:31] for us to think about the reality that people who have a disability are disabled by society,

[9:37] by the attitudes and the environmental barriers that keep them from fully participating.

[9:42] And so it's our opportunity to make those barriers less, to change our attitudes and mindsets to one

[9:50] of inclusion no matter what, and to remove as many barriers as we can so that everyone regardless of

[9:55] their disability can fully participate. I have loved walking into this space and seeing some

[10:01] of the ways that that happens. An all user restroom, door automatic door opener buttons,

[10:07] hearing loops. You can see that this space was designed with intention to try and remove

[10:11] some of those environmental barriers to full inclusion. And we can always be improving that.

[10:21] So, this shouldn't need to be said, but I think it's important to just say

[10:25] people with disabilities have inherent dignity and worth. Accessibility is a human rights issue.

[10:31] People with disabilities deserve full participation as equal members of society.

[10:36] They need autonomy, independence, and freedom to make their own choices. They should be

[10:40] included in decision-making processes, especially those that impact their lives.

[10:45] And they need accessibility in physical, social, economic, and cultural environment,

[10:50] so that they can fully enjoy all human rights and freedoms just as everyone else. So again,

[10:55] it shouldn't need to be said, but I want to make it very clear that this is a human rights issue,

[11:00] that everyone deserves the ability to be free and included.

[11:05] So when we bring it into the context of business, it starts to feel a little mercenary maybe.

[11:10] But I do think it's important to call out some of these realities that businesses benefit when they

[11:15] are accessible. So if you're not moved by the human rights case, if you're not moved by the

[11:19] personal argument for inclusion, maybe be moved by the business case for accessibility and inclusion.

[11:26] Businesses benefit from accessibility because a diverse workforce benefits business. Workforces

[11:31] that include all kinds of employees with all kinds of abilities and lived experience are stronger.

[11:37] People with disabilities are innovative and creative and bring important problem solving and

[11:44] lived experience expertise to your workplace and it's worth doing the work of inclusion to

[11:49] have a diverse workforce. People with disabilities also represent a huge consumer market. They have

[11:55] money to spend and they want to spend it in your business. They want to visit your destination.

[11:59] They want to spend money with you and so it only benefits you to make it possible for them to do

[12:05] that. Inclusive design improves the experience for everyone. So when you're thinking about

[12:11] changes to your physical environment or changes to the way you do business that make it more

[12:16] accessible for a disabled person, they're also going to make it more accessible for everyone.

[12:20] If you make your aisles wider so that someone who uses a mobility device can get through them,

[12:24] maybe that also will help a parent with a stroller. If you make your signage really

[12:28] clear and easy to understand for someone with a disability, it's also going to make it easier to

[12:33] understand for someone who's learning a new language or who is a new reader. If you make

[12:39] it so that people can hear well, that benefits everyone. And so inclusive design is something

[12:47] that benefits everyone in the community, every customer, every member of your organization.

[12:52] And finally, if you prioritize inclusion, you gain trust and loyalty as a business or as an

[12:57] organization or as a community. People can tell when you care and when you're working

[13:02] to make things better and when inclusion is a priority and accessibility matters to you

[13:07] and that will increase their trust in you and that will increase their loyalty to you.

[13:13] So again, if you want to be moved by the money, $8 trillion a year in disposable income for the

[13:20] disabled community around the world. That's a lot of money to leave on the table if your business

[13:25] cannot be accessed by people with disabilities. When you add in their friends and family that

[13:29] travel with them, $13 trillion a year spent by people with disabilities and their loved ones.

[13:36] So, that's a lot of money that you don't want to not be able to have spent with you.

[13:44] And disabled people travel. And so, again, this should be self-evident, but it does need to be

[13:50] said people with disabilities travel for fun, for family reasons, for education, for work, and it is

[13:57] a benefit to the whole community to make it easier for them to do that. So almost two-thirds

[14:02] of adults with disabilities have taken at least one trip over the past two years. And almost $50

[14:08] billion have been spent by disabled travelers. And so if you can make it possible for them to

[14:15] visit your community, that's money that will help your local businesses, your local economy,

[14:20] that will help your own community members thrive. Because it's not just traveling for pleasure. It's

[14:24] traveling for family needs, for the birth of a grandkid, for college, for a business trip or

[14:30] a conference. The more we can reduce barriers and make it possible for people to fully participate,

[14:35] the better for everyone, just socially and in community, but also economically. So,

[14:42] this matters in a lot of dimensions.So,

[14:46] again, just to name the obvious, when people who are disabled travel, they do all the things

[14:52] everyone else does. They want to eat out at restaurants. They want to visit family and

[14:55] go to family events like weddings and funerals and family reunions and graduations and births.

[15:01] They want to shop at your local stores. They want to visit the local attractions. They want to see

[15:05] the things that are cool about your community. They want to visit state and national parks

[15:09] and take in beautiful places and have outdoor recreation opportunities. They want to visit

[15:14] art museums and galleries and take in cultural performances and events. And they want to do

[15:18] that the same way everyone else wants to do it. And so again, making those things inclusive just

[15:24] benefits everyone and it makes it more possible for people to visit your community and enjoy it.

[15:31] And for the travel and tourism industry, we often talk about the difference between a day trip

[15:36] visitor and an overnight visitor and how a day trip visitor is great, but they're not necessarily

[15:41] spending as much money. So it's not as much of an economic benefit. If someone is spending the

[15:46] night, all of a sudden you're reaping that much more of an investment in your local economy.

[15:50] They're maybe eating out. They're maybe staying longer. And so when disabled people travel,

[15:55] it's good for us to highlight that often they're staying overnight. And so 40.5 million overnight

[16:01] trips in the last two years taken by people with disabilities and $125 a night when someone

[16:07] stays in a hotel. So that's economic value that comes to your community when people can visit.

[16:14] So in Oregon, just in case this seemed too global and too non-specific,

[16:19] we are welcoming disabled travelers. So 15% of people who visit Marion and Polk County

[16:25] have an accessibility need of some kind. So that's not a small number.

[16:29] Again, if you're not moved by the human reasons to do this work,

[16:35] be moved by the economics. 15% of your potential customers have some kind of accessibility need.

[16:41] And when we look at all the people who have visited Oregon in the last couple years, 34%,

[16:47] so more than a third say that accessibility was important to their decision to travel in Oregon.

[16:52] So it's not just impacting people when they get here, it's impacting how they plan and prioritize

[16:56] their travel. They are more likely to come if they can see that you are an accessible destination.

[17:03] And disabled travelers want to do all the things everyone else wants to do, but they do also have

[17:08] some specific needs. And so it's important to think about the fact that almost half

[17:12] of disabled travelers have some kind of assistive device that they might use when they're traveling

[17:17] and to think about that really broadly. So that might be something that's apparent like

[17:21] a wheelchair. That might be something that's less apparent like a communication support tool. That

[17:26] might be something that they use in the privacy of their hotel room like a lift to transfer from

[17:31] a mobility device to a bed. And so, thinking really broadly about what a traveler might

[17:38] need when they come to your community. Is it easy for them to find a medical supply rental place?

[17:42] Is it easy for them to know what the hotel already offers and what they might need to

[17:46] bring with them? Is your business prepared for somebody who uses an assistive device

[17:52] to travel safely? Do you have a ramp? Do you have narrow aisles? Do you have a table width in your

[17:58] restaurant that will accommodate somebody moving between tables comfortably? It's just important

[18:03] to be aware that there are some unique things that travelers might need to be supported.

[18:08] And the same goes with service animals. So 11% of disabled travelers have a service animal that

[18:13] assists them at home or when they're traveling. So is your business prepared to welcome those guests?

[18:18] Do you know what the law says? Do you know what your policies are? Are your employees trained to

[18:23] welcome guests with service animals? Is it clear to them how to do that safely and respectfully?

[18:30] It's important to be prepared and it's also important to talk about the challenges. So

[18:35] disabled travelers do experience barriers that make it harder for them to travel. And so almost

[18:42] three-fourths of travelers with disabilities have encountered some kind of obstacle when staying at

[18:47] overnight lodging like a hotel or a short-term rental. Doors that are heavy and hard to open

[18:51] are an immediate challenge. And if you've ever tried to open a door when you're encumbered in

[18:57] some way by bags or kids or maybe you've used a mobility device, it's a huge barrier. And so

[19:07] automatic door openers, doors that are lighter weight and easier to maneuver. There are some

[19:11] changes you can make to the physical environment to make it easier. Lack of needed rooms,

[19:16] rooms that are elevator accessible or on the first floor or are navigable by mobility devices,

[19:23] that's another barrier that folks often experience. And then lack of accessible

[19:27] bathroom facilities, including shower benches, but also including things like roll-in showers, shower

[19:34] handles that you can reach from your seat, shower handles that are on the right side of the shower

[19:39] from where the seat is. If the seat is over here and the handles are over here, it doesn't really

[19:43] matter how high or low they are. You can't reach them from your seat. Lots of things like that that

[19:48] if you haven't had to navigate, you might not think of. And it's okay that you don't know,

[19:52] but the more we learn, the more we can try to make physical changes that make travel more accessible.

[20:00] And so the number one thing that I've learned in my experience with this work is that information

[20:06] is access. And so before you change a single thing in your physical environment, before you

[20:14] change anything in your policies, the thing you can do to help right away is provide clear

[20:20] and accurate accessibility information. And so that's what's so exciting about this workshop

[20:25] and the assessments that are being offered in Monmouth is that they will help you clearly know

[20:30] what you have to offer and provide information. So travelers need clear and accurate information

[20:38] to find transit and accommodations that are accessible. They want to know if they can navigate

[20:42] your business when they visit it. They want to know if their needs will be met and they will be

[20:46] welcome. And so it's hard to find the information. Folks that travel with disabilities say that

[20:52] it takes so much prep time to call and look at websites and look at reviews and try to figure

[21:00] out what other people's experiences have been and try to figure out before they make a booking or

[21:05] make a plan whether they will really be welcome and whether their needs will really be met.

[21:09] And the horror stories of folks that have tried every avenue to prepare and still arrived in a

[21:14] destination and found that it wouldn't meet their needs will break your heart. And so it's important

[21:19] to provide as much information as you can to help people make a decision about what they need. And

[21:25] that's the thing. You want to provide information so they can make the call. It's not your job to

[21:29] say yes, accessible, no, not accessible. It's not a checkbox or a binary. You provide information so

[21:35] that everyone can decide if it meets their needs for themselves. It's empowering with information.

[21:46] So, information sources people look to are all the ones you'd think of. Asking friends and family,

[21:53] looking at social media, looking at websites and apps and online

[21:57] reviews and travel companies. And so, whatever your role is in the community,

[22:01] if you're a community organization, if you're a business, if you're a business association,

[22:05] think about the ways that you could provide information that would help people navigate your

[22:10] space. Maybe that's online, maybe that's the easiest thing, maybe it's a brochure,

[22:15] maybe it's connecting with an organization that already exists. But think about what you have to

[22:22] offer in the way of information for how folks can know about you and know what you offer.

[22:29] And then representation and advocacy make a difference. And so including people

[22:34] with disabilities in your marketing materials, talking about your commitment to accessibility,

[22:38] even if it's not perfect, even if you're still learning, even if you have changes yet to make,

[22:43] that is a signal to folks that they are going to be more likely to be welcome. And so

[22:48] it's important to publicly talk about the work you're doing and to publicly commit yourself to

[22:54] the work of accessibility, including people of all kinds in your marketing, including people's

[22:59] lived experience and the stories you tell about yourself. It matters. It makes a difference.

[23:09] So what can you do? I've already talked about providing information, but it bears repeating.

[23:14] Provide as much information as you can about how you are working to be accessible.

[23:18] Invest in accessibility and universal design. It might mean spending money. It might mean

[23:23] changing your physical environment. It might mean investing in training for your team. It might mean

[23:29] becoming more educated yourself about what you can offer. And it's worth the investment.

[23:35] Engage the community. Again, don't do this work in a vacuum. Don't guess. Ask the people you serve

[23:41] what they need. Rely on the experts and the people with lived experience in your community. Make sure

[23:46] they're included in the process. Promote inclusive hiring. You have organizations in your community

[23:52] that are dedicated to helping people enter the workforce who have a variety of disabilities.

[23:58] See how they might fit into your business. See what they might add to your team and try to be

[24:02] inclusive in your hiring. Market authentically. Include all kinds of people in your marketing

[24:07] materials so folks can see themselves represented. And no matter what, offer genuine welcome,

[24:13] kindness, respect, honoring people's experience, honoring what they've asked for. That's the best

[24:20] and most important thing you can do. So, specifically for tourism, um we offer some

[24:27] as an industry some supports that we want to make sure everyone knows about. Um, if you want help

[24:33] listing your business and you're a business that visitors can experience, um, there are some free

[24:39] tools to do that to help make it simple because you're juggling 10,000 things and sometimes this

[24:44] is not a top priority. Um, so we can help with that and I'm happy to talk later about the details

[24:49] of that because it gets real nerdy real fast, but we have ways to help with your business listings.

[24:54] Um, the Oregon tourism industry has invested in a partnership with an organization called Wheel the

[25:00] World that helps map accessibility features of tourism experiences and hotels and restaurants

[25:06] and then makes it easier for folks to plan a trip that meets their needs. Happy to share what

[25:11] that program is about and how you might be able to connect with it. Um, accessible tourism ambassador

[25:16] training is offered through our industry for free. Um there's a couple trainings coming up

[25:21] and that's a one-day training that helps um especially frontline folks, but anybody

[25:26] who works directly with visitors um just with some tools and knowledge to be more welcoming.

[25:32] Um Travel Oregon has an ask an expert program and one of those experts is here today. Ashley is an

[25:37] expert um that Travel Oregon has engaged to help with outdoor recreation accessibility questions.

[25:43] So that's an excellent resource to take advantage of. And your local, regional,

[25:48] and state destination management organizations are here to support you. So I represent the

[25:53] regional destination management organization for the Willamette Valley. You also have local folks

[25:58] on your side at Travel Salem and folks with Travel Oregon at the state level who are all here to

[26:02] support this process and have different resources to offer. That can include marketing support,

[26:07] that can include on the ground um destination development support, and that also includes

[26:13] grants. And so some of these costs that you might encounter um there might be grant support through

[26:18] the travel industry to help with them. Um like the grant that is facilitating this workshop.

[26:25] So I put my contact information here. I'd love to stay in touch.

[26:29] I would love to be a resource and a connection point um to what the tourism industry is offering

[26:34] um in the way of support and also to keep learning from you and what your community

[26:37] is doing because I'm really excited to see how this work unfolds as you all

[26:41] um continue to explore and work together. It's very exciting and I'd love to stay in touch. So,

[26:46] please do take me up on that. Um and yeah, that's what I have to share this morning and

[26:51] I really appreciate your time and your invitation and I'm excited to hear what else gets shared.

[27:02] All right, welcome back from the break everyone. My name is Sabra Jewell. I'm the communications

[27:08] director for the city of Monmouth and it is my pleasure to moderate this panel of all these

[27:14] experts that you see here before you. We are going to give these folks an opportunity to

[27:19] introduce themselves. So I'm not reading their bio and they're going to give you a brief kind

[27:23] of talk about who they are and their point of expertise in this discussion. So Karen, we'll

[27:28] just you've already kind of introduced yourself, but just one more time for the folks in the room.

[27:34] Hi, I'm Karen Olsen. I use she her pronouns and my

[27:38] experience that I bring to this panel is on the intersection of accessibility and travel.

[27:47] Oh, it's me.

[27:50] Wrong person. Um, I'm Ashley Schaefer. I have a business called Empowering Access. I do design

[27:56] work and assessments. So, I am the person that will be doing the the physical assessment in town.

[28:04] Um, I think that's all the info, right? That's good. Who's next? Oh, right next to you.

[28:14] Hello, everyone. My name is Rian Gail. He they pronouns.

[28:20] I am the director of disability access services at Western Oregon University.

[28:25] And I've been working in the disability department now for almost 11 years.

[28:31] I also teach classes there on campus related to interpreting

[28:38] uh neurodeiversity and diversity of people. Yeah.

[28:45] All right. Oh, Jake. Good eye. Hi, I'm Jake Hamson. Can everyone hear me? All right.

[28:54] I am one of the owners of Spectrum Artworx across the street. I am I have autism, ADHD,

[28:58] and I use they pronouns. I am a I work in like making art accessible to people

[29:05] in different with different ability levels depending on skill set, but also depending on

[29:10] physical limitations and cognitive and mental. So, I work on keeping everything accessible a

[29:15] possible and working with people to make art available as an form of expression.

[29:25] My name is Barbara Cronin and I'm the director of the Monmouth Senior Community Center right across

[29:30] the street, which is also a part of the city of Monmouth. Um, I have a long background in working

[29:36] with older adults. I primarily worked um in long-term care prior to having my job here at the

[29:43] city. And I've been here as the senior community center director for about eight years. Um but

[29:49] have a background working in assisted living, nursing care, and uh memory care specifically.

[29:56] Well, Barbara, while you have microphone, go ahead and kind of touch on a question for you.

[30:00] You do a lot travel with our seniors in town. a great senior center van and you take the seniors

[30:06] from coast to coast. I feel like you are all a rogue those folks. What have you noticed in

[30:11] your place? Have you seen one accessibility feature maybe more of an impact of this is

[30:16] maybe more uh than any other? And if so, what was that feature? That's a really great question. Um

[30:22] so yes, we do a lot of traveling um in this job, but also I've done quite a bit

[30:26] of traveling with folks experiencing dementia and um folks in assisted living communities. So,

[30:34] we're in and out of a lot of restaurants. We're in and out of a lot of museums. We're in and out

[30:38] of a lot of businesses and doing shopping and our coastal communities and places that have had um

[30:44] lots of different tourism. Um I would say one of the biggest things that I would encourage folks to

[30:54] think about in the accessibility of their business is their restroom spaces. Uh, I have heard seniors

[31:02] uh say they do not want to return to a restaurant simply because the rest rooms were impossible to

[31:09] get in and out of or the toilets were too low. Um, I actually have a statistic here that um

[31:16] it's over 50% of people over the age of 70 have some sort of toilet modification in their home.

[31:23] That's either hand rails or raised toilet seats. So that's something to keep in mind.

[31:29] Um, and another thing is just the speed at which servers interact with

[31:36] with older adults and especially for folks that are experiencing cognitive changes. Um,

[31:42] folks that are in the moderate stages of dementia are getting about one out of every third word

[31:48] you're saying. So, think about if you're coming in hot, rattling off a bunch of different specials

[31:56] uh that you're having at your restaurant that day. You know, menus that have some

[32:01] photos are really helpful. Menus that or servers that are ready to slow down and um

[32:08] seat people in places that maybe aren't as um overstimulating with sound, things like that. So,

[32:16] those are some top ones. And Ashley, if you can take the mic next because I know in your travels

[32:21] you've seen a lot of things as well. What are some of the things that you've picked up some really

[32:24] key things for our businesses that they can take away those major key things? Um beyond what helps

[32:32] like her question I guess is what you're asking. Um for me I think I would echo a lot of that and

[32:38] that restrooms like that's a make or break for me. If there's not a restroom somewhere I'm not

[32:42] going there. But also access to the information ahead of time. Since I am traveling all the time,

[32:47] I need to be prepared and I like to look up places ahead of time.

[32:52] Google Street View is one of my best friends. I'm looking for stairs and, you know, to find out

[32:58] through photos on there that, you know, the crowd source people have posted. Those help

[33:03] me a lot just to to get a an understanding of the space. Um, you know, a lot of restaurants or bars

[33:09] are really tight and so if I can look up something ahead of time and be like once there's bodies in

[33:14] there like that's going to be awful and so yeah, the information ahead of time is is huge. Um,

[33:22] yeah, those would be my two things. All right, thank you. And Rian, we’ll go to you next and

[33:30] curious why should we work toward making potentially expensive changes

[33:35] to our businesses even if we only have a couple of folks our town we might use them?

[33:45] That's a great question. So, we live in a college town here in Monmouth

[33:50] and many times we get calls from potential students or their parents,

[33:56] those individuals who have disabilities and they want to know if our town is accessible

[34:01] and if our community will welcome those students. And we say yes, our town is generally accessible.

[34:07] Our community has places where your student will be welcome and be able to communicate.

[34:13] And often we tell them there are a few places that have some limited accessibility.

[34:19] We do want to be able to say that our full community is accessible.

[34:25] So people who interact with businesses like us, we want to be able to mention

[34:33] they have mobility accessibility or perhaps they have attitudinal barriers.

[34:42] people who perhaps don't have a background of communicating with folks who have disabilities.

[34:48] Um they don't have a prior experience working with individuals, senior citizens who experience

[34:54] cognitive decline or dementia. Um so they don't have that prior knowledge of how to be patient

[35:00] or how to modulate their communication. Um and it's not necessarily a matter of

[35:04] ignorance or not caring. It's just a matter of not knowing a ahead of time.

[35:09] As Karen mentioned, there are many people that travel and interact with lots of diverse folks,

[35:15] but the people who live here are often connected with the college.

[35:20] So, it's not just an issue of who is traveling and coming to our community to interact with us,

[35:27] but it's also a matter of being welcoming to the folks that are already living here.

[35:31] For instance, we have quite a robust DeafBlind community in this area.

[35:36] So we also need to provide access through tactile means

[35:41] braille uh pictures as Barbara mentioned and being able to provide visual means of communication

[35:48] so that individuals individuals can access their community independently

[35:54] and all of those different types of sensory input are very important.

[36:00] people who have experience with different types of Neurodivergence, ADHD,

[36:07] autism. It's also important to keep those types of sensory disabilities in mind as well. Thank you.

[36:16] All right, Jake. So, Karen talked a lot in her presentation about the different

[36:21] economical impacts, right? She gave us some incredible statistics not only nationwide

[36:26] but in our state.would you like to touch a bit about how you think beyond just being compliant,

[36:32] how does accessibility boost innovation? So, one way that I've seen accessibility boost

[36:38] innovation is personally with my printmaking and working with the city on making tactile prints

[36:44] that people can feel art when they instead of just looking at it.

[36:47] Another way is such as with our sample table that allows youth and people who haven't tried

[36:53] the art supplies to be able to try them out and experiment to see if they want the product or not.

[36:59] But just in addition to if accessibility created innovation having the innovation of being willing

[37:06] and that to being willing to experiment and expand your services to help people being a to be able to

[37:12] accept what they haven't done before such as laser engraving being able

[37:16] to make 3D objects or different types of textures that are more accessible

[37:23] or having ways of being able to communicate such as using uh text to speech

[37:28] or photographs so people can show you what they're looking for and be like, "Hey, I'm looking for X

[37:34] and then you can help them find that said product or said resource." Thanks, Jake. All right,

[37:40] here come um I really think this is a great question that I saw that Tori gave and I'd like to

[37:46] extend this question to the entire panel and it's what's the biggest myth about accessibility that

[37:51] you would like to debunk? I think for me it would be that accessibility is someone else's problem.

[37:59] I think it is something that we all will need at some point in our life.

[38:04] Whether we become disabled ourselves or are already disabled or have a temporary disability or

[38:11] have a family or friend or loved one who becomes disabled or is disabled. And so I hope we can

[38:18] come to understand that accessibility benefits the whole community and is the right thing to do um

[38:25] to be more inclusive and welcoming for everyone who lives here and everyone who visits. And um

[38:32] yeah, it's not someone else's problem. It's something we can all work on together.

[38:38] For me, I would say that accessibility isn't one dimensional. Accessibility changes and evolves

[38:44] over time such as what could have been considered accessible back in the 1970s is way out of date

[38:50] compared to modern standards such as ADA keeps updating the size of the bathroom, the size of

[38:55] the ramps, the angles of the ramps. All that type of stuff keeps updating. So if you're accessible

[39:00] like let's say 2 - 3 years ago, your shop may not be considered accessible now if you were just

[39:05] at the bare minimum at that time. Sort of thing with like how technology will evolves over time

[39:10] and how we need higher processing. So if you start start off with a higher spec or ability to work

[39:17] then you don't need to upgrade as often instead of just being the bare minimum.

[39:27] One of the biggest myths people assume about accessibility is that

[39:33] it's expensive. it's going to be too great of a burden on their business.

[39:37] But if you build it in from the beginning, if you build it in to your business model,

[39:42] then it's not so much an expense. If you consider it last minute,

[39:47] it does become much more expensive. But if you build it in early on, the cost is quite minimal.

[39:54] If you make your business, as Jake mentioned, if you make your business accessible from the

[39:59] beginning, you benefit everyone as well as your business margin itself. When you are accessible,

[40:08] you think some folks think that accessibility makes my business uh a separate place for the

[40:14] than for the general audience or the general community. But that's not accurate either.

[40:19] You know, for instance, if you have a ramp in your building or you need to have uh

[40:24] a table in the back of the building that is more accessible for folks with mobility changes. Those

[40:31] things might seem from the outside to be access just for folks that need those accommodations,

[40:38] but they are more than just accommodations for folks that actually need those accommodations.

[40:44] They are also beneficial for everyone in the community who accesses that business.

[40:50] When you make things inclusive from the beginning rather than putting them off,

[40:55] um you don't need to have a different space. All right, Ashley.

[41:03] Yeah, I think I would say uh the thing that I hear the most like I'm a lot on a lot of committees and

[41:10] things and especially outdoor recreation focused. I hear a lot of people saying, "Well, disabled

[41:16] people aren't coming to our parks. They're not on our trails. They don't use our services and so

[41:23] why do we need to accommodate them?" Well, there's a reason they don't because it's not accessible.

[41:28] Like it's kind of it's just it's a silly one, but I hear it a lot and have to argue that quite a

[41:34] bit that like if you build it, they will come like, you know, and the the more people that

[41:40] that experience or have good experiences in your location, you know, that builds trust

[41:45] and then they tell their friends because, you know, I think like Karen was presenting that

[41:50] that we talk a lot and we we share information because information is hard to find and so when

[41:55] someone finds out something's accessible, They're just gonna go in hordes. So, yeah, we'll come.

[42:03] So, going last, oh my gosh, I get to like kind of echo a lot of what other people have said. I agree

[42:08] with Jake entirely that just because something is ADA accessible. Just because you're compliant

[42:14] does not mean it's your best practice. Um, there's always a way to go above and beyond for people.

[42:19] And there's certain things that are part of ADA compliance that you know people don't often think

[42:24] about like lighting in their space. Glare um for older adults and folks with dementia is a

[42:30] really big deal. So certainly um things outside of those compliance factors that are important and um

[42:37] yeah I I think that just creating um Rian was absolutely right in that things don't have to be

[42:45] uh very expensive and staff training does not have to be expensive. Just creating opportunities for

[42:53] yourself to educate yourself and for um your staff to learn more about people's lived experiences

[43:01] um does not cost a lot of money and that's going to change a user experience in a business

[43:06] more than most things. I think in a community like this, it it shows you that there's people in this

[43:14] space willing to come here and learn, people that are going to be watching this virtually,

[43:18] um, that care about this community and people's user experience in their business,

[43:23] not just from an economical standpoint, but because we're an amazing community and,

[43:28] uh, care a lot about our residents. And so I think that taking time to build relationship,

[43:35] build community, and build trust um by making sure your staff and your owners are

[43:45] learning and always learning about what those best practices are. Yeah. Hold on the mic just one more

[43:51] second because I have I believe two audience questions. Hi Seth. I just want to smile like

[43:57] I have a terribly awkward face when I'm kidding. We have a couple of audience

[44:01] questions, but before I get to those, I just want to ask the panel one more.

[44:05] Uh what advice do you have for somebody starting on this journey? This may seem overwhelming.

[44:10] They know they need to do it. How do you get started? Barbara, go ahead and kick us off.

[44:15] Um as as the panelist that deals a lot with older adults, um challenge your own agism. We all have

[44:25] internalized agism. We're all aging. Um, and so yeah, and I know it's I see scary faces, but it's

[44:33] it's not like older adults, folks with living with dementia can still thrive in a community and still

[44:41] experience great joy and success throughout their day and can contribute quite a bit financially to

[44:48] uh the businesses in our community. There was one statistic I wanted to share that was from

[44:54] an AARP report in 2019. Grandparents, which is like 96% of people over the age of 65,

[45:03] spend a collective $179 billion annually on their grandchildren, which is an average of of

[45:11] like two and a half thousand dollars. So, um those grandparents are out there spending money. So,

[45:18] you know, it's worth worth thinking about the economic impact as well as that that

[45:23] relationship and community building. Um, so challenge your own internalized agism and

[45:29] um just yeah, putting yourself in another person's shoes, taking the time to do these

[45:33] types of assessments and audits of your spaces and uh really going out of your way to not

[45:41] uh patronize anybody coming into your space. And just treating people with mutual respect.

[45:51] Um I would say just know that doing this work takes time. Doing anything with equity takes time.

[46:00] It's not a quick checkbox like we talked about. It doesn't happen overnight. There is a lot of

[46:08] complexity to the disabled experience and how to be inclusive and welcoming. So, don't get kind

[46:14] of sucked into the urgency that I think our world kind of produces. Just know that there's resources

[46:21] out there. You're not alone. The business next door is likely facing the same challenges. Um,

[46:27] we experience barriers, but you also do, too. And they're valid. You know, cost is is a barrier.

[46:33] Knowledge is a barrier. There's just there's so many barriers for all of

[46:36] us. And so just know that like there's people out there to help you and that

[46:41] you're not going to get everything right immediately. So just take your

[46:43] time and try to do it with a lot of intention and you'll get it right.

[46:54] Thank you. By thank you. Yeah. And I think collaborating with the university

[46:58] uh for someone who, you know, may be coming into the area for their first time and has a

[47:04] disability. Um I would say having your staff have that training like that's already been mentioned

[47:11] can be really really great for that. Uh it's nice to have staff who also can sign

[47:16] uh especially when we're talking about deaf uh customers who are coming into the business, right?

[47:21] Uh so making training a part of you know the staff's training and everything and making

[47:27] that a standard practice for them is going to be vital for everybody's learned experience

[47:31] so that when they do experience somebody with a disability for the first time they're prepared

[47:36] So uh one thing is you know just focusing on that uh communication and then also there's like

[47:42] you know on your website itself uh saying like hey this is wheelchair accessible and

[47:47] providing all the information of oh okay cool so the places website says that I can come in

[47:54] with a wheelchair it has this this and this to accommodate my disability. Yeah. All right, Jake.

[48:04] For setting up accommodations when you're starting out, reach out to your local community.

[48:10] Talk to those in the area around you and see what is what what other business have

[48:13] learned from those around and how you can improve based on what they have experienced

[48:19] such as you can figure out how to work such as for the college if there are a lot of new students

[48:24] coming in with who are blind figuring out how to make more tactile options. Of the students with

[48:30] different with mobility aids such as wheelchairs or walkers or crutches. Making sure that you have

[48:35] your aisles and spaces or tables wide enough apart that way they're accessible. Keeping in

[48:40] contact with the local community and those who work with people who are visiting will help your

[48:44] business be able to be more accessible and help your accommodations work better in the future.

[48:50] I don't have anything left to say. Um, I just wanted to share a resource that I found helpful in

[48:59] just orienting myself to this work and it's a book called um, what is it called? Oh, I'm blanking.

[49:07] Um, well, I'll stare at you while you know, I'm not going to remember on the spot. I have

[49:12] I have included it in my notes that Tori is going to share, so you can check those out.

[49:17] Um, but I guess I will say you have such a wealth of expertise in your own community

[49:22] to learn from and there are experts who have shared their experience through blogs, through

[49:28] um books, through articles. There's so much information out there where people

[49:33] are willing to share what they've experienced, the good, the bad, and the challenging. And so,

[49:39] um, take advantage of that and learn from what other people have shared about their experiences.

[49:44] Hang on to that mic Karen. Is that the final question for the panel? And you have anything

[49:48] to add to this? This is this is a great question we got from the audience and this is something

[49:53] we run into a lot. Let's see. How to provide interpreters as needed on the last minute

[49:58] need? Where do we find those resources? When needing interpreters. Anybody want to start?

[50:07] I I can start as I've actually had this experience with some of the projects I've worked on

[50:14] such as you can reach out to local community and see who you can reach

[50:17] out to such as I reached out to DAS and the deaf blind program at Western

 [50:23] for when I had some DeafBlind people come in to test accessibility for me in our shop.

[50:28] So you can reach out to local organizations that deal with the different interpreting groups

[50:33] or if you're looking for foreign language, try and find community members who who are multilingual

[50:40] to have to see if they're available to come in and work with you and have them be able to visit the

[50:44] shop. You can offer compensation or see if they're willing to volunteer and get that experience. Even

[50:48] if they aren't a professional interpreter, they can still help out with translating.

[51:00] First of all, I'd like to thank you for that question.

[51:03] When we get an request for an interpreter, uh we look at the person and um see if we need to have

[51:10] that in person rather than virtual. Uh sometimes when the individual shows up, the person assumes

[51:18] that they're the interpreter, but that they need interpretation, but they actually don't even need

[51:24] an interpreter. they can communicate on their own. Um so sometimes, you know, they'll go to an event

[51:29] and um they will follow the directions of the event. They'll follow the directions of what's

[51:36] happening in the event. And so with what's happening, they're able to access the event

[51:41] enough to be able to understand what's going on without the need of relying on an interpreter.

[51:47] So, but you can still get in contact with somebody like Jake had mentioned, you know,

[51:51] getting in contact with Woo Das. uh program uh and they can help you find interpreters that way.

[51:59] Also, when you do get an interpreter, I think it's really important to keep in mind of how to

[52:03] actually access interpreting services and work with interpreters. So, we have interpreters

[52:08] with us today and everybody's looking in the interpreters while I'm the one who's signing.

[52:12] So, make sure that when the deaf person is the one who's talking that you're looking at the

[52:17] deaf person. And we're also using uh first first person person first communication where we're

[52:23] saying well don't don't say like oh tell that person and tell that person just speak directly to

[52:28] the deaf person and the interpreter will fall in line. Also we're not pointing out the interpreter

[52:33] and saying oh wait hey look at the interpreter blah blah blah and then now we're not really

[52:38] acknowledging the deaf person. It's like hello I'm over here. Hello.

[52:43] you know, so so really, you know, figuring out how to appropriately communicate is going to be really

[52:49] an important aspect of working with interpreters. Beautiful. That's great. Thank you. Anyone else

[52:55] have any thoughts on that? Want to take it down? All right. Go ahead. Go down the line. Quick one.

[53:00] Um, so I do a lot of sub consulting and when I bring in an individual, my first response

[53:06] if an interpreter is needed is to ask them who they prefer because they will have the resource to

[53:11] the person that they want and I would much rather do that than screw up and get someone that they're

[53:16] not as excited about. That's very good advice. Um, they've spoken a lot about interpretation. Um,

[53:26] and I want to speak quickly to just like business owners that may encounter somebody

[53:30] that needs medical equipment. Um, I know that, you know, there's a B&B in our town and there's other

[53:37] um, businesses that may encounter somebody that needs something like that. And that is a resource

[53:41] that we offer at the Monmouth Senior Community Center. So, if you encounter somebody that needs

[53:47] um a walker, wheelchair, shower bench, that kind of a thing, that's something you can come get from

[53:52] us for free if we have it in. So, um something worth thinking about. I know Rian's accessed that

[53:57] service and so um I I would also echo that. Um we're best friends about that, aren't we?

[54:03] Yes, we are. And I would also say that like that's a really great example, too, for me. Um

[54:11] Rian is not the first uh deaf person that I've experienced in our building,

[54:15] but uh we were communicating through an app. I do not sign. Uh and it was a very inexpensive way

[54:22] where I could speak into the app and he could read what I was saying.

[54:25] Uh so it's that's something that even if you don't have the resources to train staff members

[54:30] how to sign and take classes uh which takes time and is worth doing

[54:35] but uh there's ways to train your staff uh in the interim so that they're prepared if somebody comes

[54:40] in that needs that resource. So those are just a couple resources that I would I would recommend.