#MakingInclusionHappen: When Recreation Businesses Include People with Disabilities

Let’s talk about #MakingInclusionHappen. 

It’s time to take what was learned in an inclusion training and actually do something with it.  It’s time to dig deep enough into “the way things have always been” so that we can discover HOW TO CHANGE things so that people with disabilities can truly have options to participate in various recreation opportunities available in their community.

That’s what Rochester Accessible Adventures is doing!

Yes, you’ll see more of this hashtag, #MakingInclusionHappen, around all things Rochester Accessible Adventures.  It’s chosen because it denotes action, and change, and sustainability and that’s what we are helping our Community Health Inclusion partners do.  Our goal as an inclusion consultant is to guide a recreation business beyond the training stages to the actual implementation of inclusion principles, because each time they implement a sustainable change, we know they are closer to meeting the needs of even more people with disabilities. 

#MakingInclusionHappen is a Process

One of our first conversations with a recreation business is that being inclusive is a daily occurrence.  #MakingInclusionHappen takes deliberateness,  strategic planning, and investment.  You cannot expect a training, even a long one, to solve all the challenges; rather, it is the implementation of the elements learned during training that will be the true indication of your success.

“It is the responsibility of government to break down barriers that exist towards allowing full participation of all residents in the events and programs we offer.  We have taken large steps over the past few years to ensure that our government is accessible to all members of our community.  The initiative [with RAA] continues this progress and I look forward to developing a strategic plan for inclusive recreation in our Town.” —  Irondequoit Town Supervisor Dave Seeley

I appreciate Supervisor Dave Seeley’s words:  He recognizes the responsibility of the government to lead in inclusion, understands that inclusion is a process, and is committed to investing in inclusion for his community and ensuring his staff have a strategic plan — and a resource to help them implement that plan — that will guide their work over multiple years to create a sustainable culture of inclusion.

What does this kind of intentional, guided change look like?  Take a look at how two of our Community Health Inclusion partners, Victor Parks and Recreation and Irondequoit Recreation, are #MakingInclusionHappen.

Victor Parks and Recreation is #MakingInclusionHappen

In 2017, Brian Emelson, Director of Parks and Recreation at the Town of Victor, took major steps forward to create a culture of inclusion within his department  —  a place where his staff are able to program inclusively of people with disabilities whenever their doors are open.  He has worked with SUNY Cortland’s Inclusive Recreation Resource Center and he entered Victor Parks and Recreation (VPR) into a Community Health Inclusion partnership with Rochester Accessible Adventures (RAA).  With our support, VPR staff have been working through their Inclusion Action Plan and some of their accomplishments include:

• Many physical renovations and policy changes
• Developing plans/policies for on-boarding and staff training processes
• Addressing community awareness through visible, engaging initiatives, including strategically hiring a Pickleball instructor who was trained by RAA inclusion to teach their classes (pictured in the opening photo)
• Completing and approving a new 10 year Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was intentionally drafted with principles of inclusion at the forefront. 

Most recently, in January 2020, Brian and VPR applied for and received funding from the first ever Visit Finger Lakes Accessibility For All grant campaign, which he will use to develop inclusive mountain biking within Victor’s 65+ miles of off-road trails!  We are very excited to be a part of working on this with VPR and community partners, as its fits seamlessly within their Master Plan for inclusion within one of their most-featured amenities — their trails.  Giving a tremendous boost to the use of adaptive mountain bikes on the trails — from beginner to advanced trail courses — this will allow for the local community AND tourists from across the region as well as out of state to enjoy the amazing trail systems inclusively during their visits to the Finger Lakes region. 

Irondequoit Recreation is #MakingInclusionHappen

In September 2019, The Town of Irondequoit’s Recreation Director, Kristina Hall, selected a core stakeholder group in her department and they began the training and assessment process which is part of RAA’s Community Health Inclusion partnership and which results in a strategic inclusion plan which will guide their work in 2020 and beyond. 

Staff agree that assessing one’s programs and facilities is eye-opening.  It is true what is often said:  Not knowing what you don’t know (about inclusion practices) often inhibits you from implementing what really works!  And already, the Irondequoit Recreation staff are thinking and planning now through a lens of Inclusion that will shape their programs and policies. They are already working through challenges which are common to municipalities:  facility space which wasn’t developed with inclusion in mind, adequate resources which support their work, staffing through seasonal changes, to name a few.

While facing significant physical access constraints dictated by an old building, the Irondequoit Recreation team is planning strategically for the year and a half before their new Community Center at Skyview on the Ridge is ready, and are applying what they are learning about universal design and creating a culture which welcomes all people to the design phase of that new center.  Universal design instilled during the blueprint phases makes more sense and saves the time and expense of trying to retrofit later!

People Notice Inclusion

When a recreation business announces they are #MakingInclusionHappen, does this really matter?  Yes!  And it WILL matter until inclusion in recreation is status quo.  Historically, people with disabilities are mostly not visible in community recreation; recreation programming has tended to be siloed into specialized programming options.  Even though 1 in 5 people has a disability,  when you look around your recreation center or gym or favorite sports facility, do you see that person participating alongside people without disabilities…or are you that person?  Very often, you may go to these settings for a long time without seeing a person with a disability also participating alongside you.  Indeed, families with a member with a disability very often decide NOT to go to these settings because they expect to not be able to participate together or don’t want to be ‘the only one’.

The staff of both Victor and Irondequoit continue to move forward with inclusion at the forefront of their minds, not as an afterthought  — for their programs tomorrow, for their programs one year from now, and yes, for years to come.  Their visions for ensuring lasting, sustainable change are clear, as they work to operationalize inclusion of people with disabilities within their department, on any given day, in any given year.

“I wish our town would do this.  I only feel comfortable signing up my child without a disability for programs, but not his brother who has a disability.  It would be wonderful if I knew they both could enjoy it together.” — Parent, local town member.

I hear this sentiment expressed throughout our region as I participate in outreach fairs through parent meetings, health and wellness fairs, and community meetings.  What it says to me is that YES, people are watching as municipalities and independent recreation businesses make inclusion a value they are willing to invest in. 

And YES, it matters to individuals with disabilities and to their family and friends when they find a place they can participate in recreation together.

Because for ALL of us, recreation needs to be accessible and be inclusive every day, all the time.

Join Rochester Accessible Adventures in #MakingInclusionHappen!

What has your experience been in recreation programming?  Which municipal or independent recreation businesses do you wish you and/or your family/friends could participate in recreation but you are unsure about doing so because of physical and/or social barriers? Are you a recreation business that is ready to explore ways to begin “MakingInclusionHappen”?

We’d love to have you share your thoughts with us!  Please email me at aobrien@rochesteraccessibleadventures.org and let’s get more recreation businesses ready for #MakingInclusionHappen!

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