National service and volunteerism is about equal
engagement. Whether it’s community, civic, veteran, or environmental engagement
there are many opportunities throughout the year to conduct service events,
outreach and recruitment or idea sharing and make them inclusive of all
participants. Among the National Service Inclusion Project’s (NSIP) training
and technical assistance offerings is a review of a site’s accessibility. This
survey (http://www.serviceandinclusion.org/ttt/node/173)
is a tool to help take your current efforts toward including people with
disabilities and making them even stronger. In addition to this survey,
whenever NSIP participates or plans an event, the following are some
accessibility guidelines we consider:
1. Review the physical environment of the event so that
everyone can participate.
-For events that take place on more than one floor, are
ramps and/or elevators available?
-Are rooms, workstations and common areas open enough for
people to navigate?
-Is there is a registration desk and/or computer
workstation area that is wheelchair accessible?
-For any events that require participants to wait in
line, are there designated seating areas for persons who cannot stand long
periods of time?
2. Make presentations and content accessible to everyone.
-Can you invite a CART writer/ASL interpreter, if needed?
-Do you have materials available in alternate formats,
such as Braille, large print, and/or electronic/website accessible? Please see http://www.serviceandinclusion.org/ttt/node/172
for information on making electronic docs accessible to everyone.
-Can you plan seating so that, in addition to people with
disabilities having access to the presentation/event, their colleagues and
friends can sit with them as well?
3. Include accessible transportation in any off-site
events.
-If participants are flying in, is there accessible
transportation to/from the event? Are driving and/or public transportation
directions needed?
-Sometimes events can be held in more than one location.
If this is the case, how can you make transportation accessible and available
to people with different kinds of disabilities?
Are accessible taxis available for extracurricular needs?
4. Accessibility of hotels.
-If participants are staying at hotels, how many rooms
are accessible (i.e., offer roll in showers, have accessible registration,
parking, restrooms, gym/pool amenities, and/or transportation)?
5. Provide information on local resources and
extracurricular events.
-For breakfasts and/or dinners, what food is available
locally? Are there different options available for people who request Kosher,
vegetarian/vegan, and/or gluten-free?
-For anyone requiring refills of medication, where is the
nearest pharmacy?
-What off-site cultural activities, restaurants are
accessible?
Lastly, the most proactive strategy is to indicate, if
registrants know beforehand or if a participant needs during an accommodation,
that you are able to provide reasonable accommodations upon request.
If you are ever planning an event and would like
assistance making it more inclusive, please feel free to contact NSIP by phone
at 888-491-0326 (toll-free voice and TTY) or email at nsip@umb.edu.
Yours in service,
Chad
Find NSIP Online-
Website: www.serviceandinclusion.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NSIP_Online
The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) is a
training and technical assistance provider on disability inclusion, under a
cooperative agreement (#08TAHMA001) from Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS). NSIP partners with the Association on University Centers on
Disability, National Council on Independent Living, Association on Higher
Education and Disability and National Down Syndrome Congress to build
connections between disability organizations and all CNCS grantees, including
national directs, to increase the participation of people with disabilities in
national service.
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