Huey and his buddies fish most days on the Luddington Pier in Michigan. Instead of carrying all their gear most of them use their bikes and tow buggies. Huey told me he spent less than $200 to have his ride pimped up with a motor. SWEET!
Monthly Archives: October 2016
Business makes getting around town easy, affordable and fun! SMART
These happy guys (my brother in laws father and his brother) were able to do some sightseeing together in their hometown Winchester, England thanks to the service known as ShopMobility.
The Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland established this service 12 years ago to make it easier for people with limited mobility to access shopping centres and other facilities. It’s offered at a small charge, currently £4 per day in England, though the price varies depending on the location.
How do they do it? ShopMobility lends manual and powered wheelchairs, as well as powered scooters, to members of the public who have limited mobility. This service gives people of any age the opportunity to visit leisure and commercial facilities in a town, city, or shopping centre.
What’s particularly great about this service is the fact that you don’t have to be registered as “disabled” to use it. Anyone with limited mobility, whether it’s due to a temporary or permanent impairment, can use the service. They just want to give people the freedom to move around.
Services like ShopMobility help promote a culture of inclusivity, equality, and accessibility. Check em out next time you’re in England and lets hope to see this idea spreading across other communities soon!
Filed under Posts
Rolling with “Grit”
What happens when you give three Los Angeles residents in wheelchairs video cameras to document their daily lives? A genius film providing caregivers, policy makers, health care professionals—and everyone else—the opportunity to see what the world is like through their eyes, that’s what!
Rolling is a patient-centered documentary by Dr. Gretchen Berland that offers an honest, eye-opening look at the daily challenges of living with limited mobility. LA residents Galen Buckwalter, Ernie Wallengren, and Vicki Elman spent nearly two years capturing 212 hours of footage on cameras mounted to their chairs.
It’s often easy to overlook the “small” challenges in our built environments – a raised surface outside the front door, an elevator under maintenance in a subway station, or a crumbling sidewalk on the way to your favourite café. While unconsidered by many, for others these are daily frustrations. I can’t imagine how exhausting – physically and emotionally – it would be to have to deal with this *&^$%#*@& every day! What is it that makes people facing these or other challenges on a daily basis get up every day and not only get on with their day but flourish?
In her book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” Angela Duckworth explains the secret to outstanding achievement, and it’s not talent (like you might expect). Instead, she describes the secret to success as passionate persistence. I couldn’t help but notice parallels between grit and the three individuals in Rolling. All three clearly and repeatedly demonstrate the grit that Duckworth describes as they passionately persist and resist the social messaging and identities assigned to them.
Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, Inaccessible, Inspirational, Posts, Videos, Wheelchairs
The Mobility Project 