About Accessibility
During the Accessibility Committee Inventory in October 2014 committee members determined that many people don’t really understand what “accessibility” really means.
Accessibility Tidbit
Ideally every AA meeting place would be wheelchair accessible. That is not a reality. Please make sure that websites, printed schedules, etc. accurately show that the meeting is or isn’t wheelchair accessible. Does your printed or online meeting schedule display this information? Ask for it! Try putting yourself in a newcomer’s shoes who uses a wheelchair and you go to a meeting that says it’s wheelchair accessible, only to find that the doorways are too narrow to fit though… or there are actually stairs instead of a ramp… How welcoming would you feel AA is at that moment?
Another suggestion is to take the address you have printed/posted for your meeting into the various mapping apps –MapQuest, Google Maps, etc. Where does the address take you? Some of our meetings are in large complexes/church buildings. Does the information provided take the attendee to the northwest side of the building, but your meeting is on the southeast side of the building? How does that impact newcomers and/or people using Access Vans to come to your meetings? That might be a long trek for them to actually find your meeting. Do you have the ability to provide any extra location information in places you post or print this information? If you don’t know – ask!
originally posted by Lynn B