Access Place

By Vida Jurisic

If you’re a "Trekkie" or know a Star Trek fan, you’ve probably heard of the Holodeck. It’s an ideal rest-and-relaxation space where fantasy meets reality, thanks to high-tech computer simulation.

However, the dream or fantasy is short-lived, because the computer can only generate a one-time dream program. Once out of the Holodeck -- poof! It’s gone.

In the real world of the ’90s, people with disabilities do not want to live on dreams but want to live their lives fully. Come January 1994, Access Place will open its doors -- a unique barrier-free space where innovative design, technology, information and communications will converge to promote independent living for people with disabilities, in the workplace and in the community. Picture it: a one-stop demonstration resource centre providing hands-on solutions for all Canadians -- from people with disabilities themselves, to educators, journalists, rehabilitation and health care professionals, legislators and governments, families and support circles -- to architects, designers, builders, developers and specifiers!

Access Place was a reality born out of a common vision shared by four distinct collaborators: Canadian Abilities Foundation through ABILITIES Magazine, Barrier-Free Design Centre, the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres/Foundation for Independent Living, and the Neil Squire Foundation. ABILITIES Magazine and the Barrier-Free Design Centre will set up all their offices at Access Place while the other two organizations will have branch offices on site.

Together, these not-for-profit organizations will continue to work independently, while at the same time contributing their vast and diverse range of expertise and services to joint projects.

Consultation and research services will be provided to individuals and stakeholder groups at cost-competitive rates, taking into account client needs and budgets.

When talking to the four collaborators, one gets a sense of passion characteristic of explorers embarking on a new voyage. "The project is very timely and exciting because now, more than ever, people with disabilities are coming into their own right in terms of making their own choices both in the community and the workplace," says Ray Cohen, publisher/editor of ABILITIES. "This is really the first generation of people with disabilities living almost completely outside of institutions. With this increase in community living, quality of life becomes a very important issue, and Access Place will be in an ideal position to address this concern."

To help you get acquainted with Access Place, let’s begin with its physical description. It is situated in College Park, a multi-use shopping complex in downtown Toronto serviced by the Yonge subway line. If you are entering it at street level, it is wheelchair-accessible from the north- and west-side entrances. Currently, the Barrier Free Design Centre is working with the city to retrofit subway stations, making them accessible to wheelchair users. Unfortunately, however, College Station is one of the oldest stations, and the high cost of retrofitting it makes it a lower priority.

Once inside Access Place, you may not see anything unusual at first. But as you wander around, you will note that the two-level 8,000-square-foot structure is barrier-free, that it contains a model residence demonstrating designs, products and technologies available today to make a home more accessible. On the first level, you will see model workplace environments and meeting facilities for training seminars, workshops, clinics and conferences that will be offered by Access Place or one of its founding organizations. On the second level, you will discover the user-friendly information centre featuring an on line database linked up with resource centres and organizations across Canada, providing leading-edge information on barrier-free design and technology.

You’re probably wondering by now just how Access Place can benefit you on a day-to-day basis. That depends on your needs. If, for example, you have acquired a severe disability and are wondering what options exist to help you recycle your work skills or develop a new set of skills, the Neil Squire Foundation can assist you in identifying and learning about the tools you need to return to the workplace. If you are a manufacturer who has developed a breakthrough hearing device, you can reach a vast untapped user market by advertising in ABILITIES, the leading lifestyle magazine for Canadians with disabilities. Should you be an employer researching employment equity standards, you will find that the Information Centre features an unparalleled array of reference materials and that its on-line database is invaluable in identifying appropriate information sources nation-wide. If you are a builder, architect or industrial designer, Access Place will not only allow you to experience firsthand technology options that can assist people with disabilities both at home and at work, but it will also provide you with information on transferring these design options and technology solutions to individual homes and work sites. There will be a cost for some services at competitive rates; however, for individuals unable to pay the full cost for services, subsidy funds will be available. With Access Place, everyone wins.

Making Access Place happen was not an overnight achievement. Before creating Access Place, its four collaborating organizations worked in separate spheres of business, each pursuing their unique vision. They had earned a solid reputation for innovation and excellence in their respective fields of activity. They were, however, bound by a common goal: to enable people with disabilities to achieve personal and professional independence. Let’s take a closer look at who they are and what type of services you can expect from them.

The Neil Squire Foundation:
The Neil Squire Foundation is a Canadian not-for-profit organization based in Vancouver that responds to the needs of people with severe physical disabilities. Its principle activities are research and development of electronic-based assistive devices and human interfaces for technology, consultation and assessment and creative employment options.

The Foundation, headed by Dr. Gary Birch who himself is a quadriplegic, employs 45 professionals in rehabilitation-related professions such as occupational therapy, kinesiology, research and development, software programming, electrical engineering, biomedical and equipment technology and administration and creative professions.

The Foundation was one of the first groups involved with Access Place, mainly because of the vision of Bill Cameron, founder, who died in March 1993. "Bill had a nephew, Neil, who, in 1981 at the age of 21, became a high-level quadriplegic following a car accident. Neil was a university student and top-ranking basketball player from Nanaimo, B.C.," explains Michael McCallion, engineer and Toronto manager for the Vancouver-based organization. "Following Neil’s accident, Bill was shocked to see the restricted activities available to Neil professionally and personally. So he asked himself if the computer could be a tool Neil could use to gain more control. Out of this grew the Neil Squire Foundation.

"With the computer now ubiquitous in the workplace, people with severe disabilities need extra devices to make the computer accessible to them," says McCallion. "The Foundation gives them many more options for work and education and personal activities. We’re not training data-entry clerks or computer programmers. We’re just trying to generate skills needed in the everyday work force."

Access Place represents an excellent opportunity for all stakeholders to work together to overcome the barriers to independence at home and in the workplace, according to Dr. Birch. "It provides a constructive milieu to work on these problems. In terms of commitment, we are really interested in people knowing what’s available to them, and having a resource and demonstration centre that will provide an excellent environment to find solutions to these problems."

The Barrier-Free Design Centre:
The Barrier-Free Design Centre is a Canadian multidisciplinary team with the mandate to make the built environment more accessible for everyone. It provides technical training in universal design, offers consultation for residential and workplace design, maintains the largest Canadian collection of material on barrier-free design and construction, and has published several technical reference guides.

Universal design is also about accommodation. Executive Director Anne Adams contrasts it with the rush to design specialty products following the Vietnam War when disability issues started gaining momentum. That had its inherent dangers, she says, because it limited design to a special group. "Special items are also more expensive and always on back order, which can hold up your job. Universal design, on the other hand, extends the design to accommodate the widest range of people with out needing to address ’special needs’ directly." A good example is the office furniture to be used in Access Place. It is supplied by Herman Miller Canada, a leading furniture company in universal design. "What they want is to get good feedback on their product which can be adapted for different users," says Adams.

The Foundation for Independent Living:
The Foundation for Independent Living (FIL) is a fundraising arm of the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres (CAILC). CAILC is the national umbrella for Independent Living Resource Centres (ILRCs) in Canada. Each of the 19 ILRCs is a consumer-controlled organization specializing in information and referral, individual advocacy assistance, independent living skill development, peer support and service development. FIL, through the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, is the co-producer of the Disability Network, a weekly news and documentary program seen on the CBC national network, Sundays at 1:30 p.m. (check your local listings).

As part of Access Place, the FIL will operate an Alternate Media Centre. "The idea behind it is to make it easy to get alternate media for a wide variety of users," explains Ross Robinson, Director of the Montreal-based FIL. "We’re in the business of creating media from a cross-disability perspective. That means regardless of the disability someone has, they can benefit from this service. We’re going to run our service as a print shop with the emphasis on people who are creating original materials. For example, if a company is producing 55 copies of a brochure in Braille and 25 audio cassettes, it can come to us and we will cost the job, just like a copy shop."

Developing relationships with potential partners for other projects is also one of FIL’s goals. "By working with publications, for example, we might examine alternate formats to create wider accessibility," says Robinson. "We can also sit down with a bank and help it identify ways of making its publications and materials more accessible. Our alternate media centre will also produce various written material on videos in sign language, which is often the first language of deaf people. By transcribing the written report into sign language, the deaf viewer will be able to read it on a video."

The Alternate Media Centre will be managed by staff, most of whom will have disabilities. It will have built-in quality control and will operate much like a store-front shop. Most of the work will be performed on site and material will be received from a client base including volunteers and people with disabilities who require conversion of various materials.

The Canadian Abilities Foundation:
The Canadian Abilities Foundation is the publishing entity behind ABILITIES, Canada’s premiere lifestyle publication for people with disabilities. The magazine is a critical pipeline for the exchange of information with the community and has led the way in journalistic achievement on disability issues.

The Foundation’s commitment to Access Place matches that of its fellow collaborators. "There is much enthusiasm in having ABILITIES involved because of the expertise in communications that it brings to the table," says Ray Cohen, publisher/editor of ABILITIES. "Given the mandate of Access Place, communications will play a key role in making it as effective as it should be."

He adds that ABILITIES not only communicates effectively with Canadian people with disabilities, but also reaches the entire support network serving them. Looking ahead, Cohen sees ABILITIES expanding beyond its national role. "I see a point in time where in fact the Abilities Foundation will become a conduit providing information to mainstream media as to what is going on with respect to people with disabilities."

Now that you’ve completed the grand tour of Access Place, we invite you to partake in the reality that has been fuelled by many dreams. Starting January 1994, the gateway to independent living will be open!

(Vida Jurisic is a freelance writer in Toronto.)