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Wheeling a mile in my shoes
When you go down the street, do you think about how high the kerbs are? Do you need to choose a ground-floor dentist? Do you stay out of buildings with narrow doors? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then try wheeling a mile in my wheelchair!
People with disabilities face a lot of challenges doing ordinary things in the community – like going to the shops or the park, or catching a bus. For example, I cannot get the wheelchair van taxi between 7:30 am and 9.30 am so I can get to work. I know from experience that it is difficult for children who are wheelchair-bound to go and play in the local playground area because their wheelchair would get stuck, especially if the grass is wet.
Early in December 2003, the Disabled Person Assembly (DPA) and the community
development section of the Hutt City Council held a public forum in the Hutt
Valley. At this meeting, Rik Hart, chief executive of the Hutt City Council,
agreed to set up a disability reference group to advise the council about issues
people in Hutt City have with transportation, work, recreation, and emergency
management. I was invited to be part of that group, because I know someone
on the Wellington Disability Reference Group, and I’ve attended the Wellington
forums. Our group will help the council to see where their annual and long-term
plans need to consider the needs of people with disabilities.
For example, the Disability Reference Group could advise the Hutt City Council
to put footpaths in playgrounds so that children in wheelchairs can enjoy the
facilities. We can also talk to the council about cutting down the curbs at
crossings, and taking scooters on the trains in peak hours so that we can go
to and from work like other people.
The author, Nicola Dunleavy, shows Paul Swain MP how she codes on-line documents to make them e-government compliant.
Find out more!
Lobbying your local council, Deidre Kent, Gateway Publications 2000
