Luke Anderson, Trailblazer.. A poorly placed automatic door button, a narrow elevator or a single step at the entrance to a shop. The majority of Canadians will navigate these common design flaws without much thought, but for the 11 per cent of the population that lives with a physical disability, they are yet another hurdle.
Luke Anderson has faced many of these obstacles first-hand. While mountain biking in British Columbia in 2002, the avid outdoorsman missed an eight-metre jump and sustained a spinal cord injury that rendered him quadriplegic. “My life changed in a split second when I crashed,” says Anderson, now 38. “And I quickly learned the world isn’t well-suited for someone who uses a mobility aid.”
Anderson moved back home to Toronto following his accident but struggled to recover his old self-confidence. He eventually returned to work as a structural engineer and in 2006 landed a coveted job with a sizable drawback: three tall steps at the building’s entrance. Every time Anderson wanted to enter or exit, a colleague had to set up an unwieldy ramp. It was a logistical nightmare that eliminated any spontaneity from his day.
During his years at the engineering firm, the problem of those steps was never far from Anderson’s mind. But it wasn’t until he heard of the Good Bike Project—where local artists painted broken bicycles vivid hues and used them to mark areas of historical or cultural importance around the city— that Anderson saw an opportunity. Portable, brightly coloured ramps could be a temporary solution, as well as an awareness-raising tool, for the widespread problem of stepped entranceways.
In the fall of 2011, Anderson and a friend solicited donations of wood and paint from hardware stores in the Junction, a neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end, and recruited volunteers by knocking on doors. The pitch: through their Community Ramp Project (which would later become the StopGap Foundation), they would provide shops with lightweight, weatherproof, fully customized ramps, free of charge.
They built 13 ramps in those first few months; once word got out, dozens of businesses across the city began submitting requests. For Attila Szanyi, ordering a ramp for his upscale corner store, Popbox Mrkt., was a no-brainer: “As a business owner, all you want is for people to have easy access to your shop. You don’t want to exclude anyone.”
Dan Harvey, who has used a wheelchair since a trampoline accident in his teens, has frequently felt excluded living in London, Ont. The city’s historic architecture can be challenging for people with disabilities. “That one step is what will prevent me from going out to dinner with my wife, from buying a new pair of pants, from having a drink with friends,” explains Harvey, 30. In 2015, following Anderson’s lead, Harvey brought StopGap to London. In just three months, Harvey and his team of volunteers raised $4,000 for their initiative and provided 59 businesses with accessible entranceways.
Harvey is just one of hundreds of people who have launched StopGap satellites in their communities since the project began: 800 technicolour ramps can now be seen in 34 cities, from Richmond, B.C., to Halifax. The group’s website features a catalogue of free resources to help volunteers conduct outreach, build their ramps and fund-raise (each unit costs upwards of $300 to construct).
As their name suggests, the StopGap ramps aren’t intended to be a permanent solution. Anderson hopes they foster a wider conversation around accommodating people with disabilities in public spaces, and that they put pressure on municipalities to mandate accessible buildings. “We need the places where we live, work and play to be good for everybody,” says Anderson. “At the root of all this is a human right, the right to equal access.”
Friday, 29 July 2016
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Speech.
I'm doing a speech for my Mightywheels.ca at the self advocacy federation
august 2nd at 4:00 please stop by..
18304-105 Avenue, Suite 104, Edmonton, Alberta, T5S 0C6
The Self Advocacy Federation (SAF)
SAF speech
Hello all, I'm Tim the founder of mightywheels dot ca Canada's first wheel accessibility team, raising awareness of the problems that people who use wheels face everyday. I'm very passionate about this, probably because I too use wheels.
Edmonton has poor accessibility and they about 4-5 years behind in their accessibility updates, Edmonton is not the best place for people who use wheels. For an able-bodied person, the journey from my apartment to the closest grocery store is a short, 5-minute walk, they can make it even shorter by cutting through the parking lot of the neighbouring plaza.
For me, that same journey takes an easy 30 minutes. I am forced to wheel over, over size speed bumps, large cracks in the sidewalk, numerous potholes and other horrific obstacles. I have fallen out of my chair from getting my wheels stuck in a crack of the city sidewalk.
These problems do not only affect me, they also affect parents pushing baby strollers, people using walking aids or other people using wheelchairs.
When I first brought my concerns to my local city councilor, Not mentioning any names... I was told that Edmonton didn't have an accessibility problem... And when I requested a meeting with that counselor, I was told that I had already met with him, which I hadn’t. I don't want any enemies, so I'll let that one slide.
But, how can we work together to solve our accessibility issues if the city councilors, the people who have the power to help address these issues, will not listen to our concerns? I came up with an idea to create the "MW Pledge”. The "MW Pledge" lays out the principles of mightywheels dot ca which are to help to create an accessible Edmonton for everyone.
Next year, there will be a city election, with dozens of candidates asking for our support. I will be asking every person running for mayor and council to sign the "MW Pledge" to show their support for an accessible Edmonton. I will make public all the candidates who have signed the "MW pledge" so that other advocates know who they can count on to support the community. After the election, we will hopefully have a council that have all signed the "MW Pledge." That will hopefully ensure that they keep their word to help us create a more accessible Edmonton.
The time for action is now! Let's work together to elect a council that will listen to our needs. We can turn Edmonton into a world leader of accessibility. Thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I am Timothy The founder of mightywheels dot ca
And before I forget please like my group and sign my pledge for a more accessible Edmonton.
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
MAD
I don’t want to be treated special, so can you make the playing field equal, and I bet that’s what most people who use wheels would want to.
Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.
Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Some teenyboppers,
I was wheeling around at WestEdmMall a few months ago, I know I had dry skin on my thumb, and wheeling around a lot would make it bled, So, I got a push to the security station near the ice rink, to ask for a band-aid. I couldn’t believe how poorly I was treated, I thought things there had improved for people in with challenges. But, I guess I was wrong. The 18 year old girl that was at the front desk, looking all good for the mall, asked me what I wanted (a little rudely, it loud there, lots of noise and my voice ain't the best. Little did I know, shes texting with her friend, who worked in the back. Then she just gets up from the desk, saying that talking with me, made her feel uncomfortable and its her right not to help me. She even yelled out loud "What if I catch what he has."
About 5 years ago, I lived right beside the mall, and I volunteered at both pet stores, did lots of little odd jobs all over the mall. I even have letters stating that on my resume. It took me a long time, to get the people at the mall, to relax enough to trust me.
Monday, 25 July 2016
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