City lauded for aiding disabled

The City of Bloomington was announced as a finalist last week in the second annual Accessible America Contest. The contest, run by the National Organization on Disability and sponsored by the United Parcel Service, was open to all U.S. cities. \nThe National Organization on Disability was founded in 1982 and promotes "the full and equal participation and contribution of America's 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life."\nChief elected officials for the communities submitted entries along with descriptions of community efforts to become better accessible for people with disabilities to the Accessible America contest. Bloomington was also a finalist in last year's contest, but lost to Venice, Fla.\nThe eight-member panel of judges selected seven cities from dozens of entries around the country whose populations ranged from 500 to several million people.\nJudges chose Irvine, Calif., as this year's winner on Tuesday, but they commended the six other communities for their hard work to make their cities accessible to people with disabilities.\nAlthough Bloomington did not win the contest, Brewster Thackeray, publicist for the Accessible America contest, feels the nomination speaks highly of the community's dedication to this cause.\n"Becoming a finalist reflects a community that has made both a substantial and noteworthy commitment to being accessible and has submitted an outstanding and thorough application for the award," Thackeray said.\nNOD President Alan A. Reich agrees with Thackeray that all of the finalists represent an exceptional dedication to including people with disabilities in every function of the community.\n"America has set an example for the world through our great strides toward full accessibility and opportunity for people with disabilities, but even this nation still has a long way to go," Reich said. "These seven finalist communities are fine examples for many thousands of others throughout the country as we strive toward our goal of full participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life."\nThe NOD presented a $25,000 cash award to Irvine, Calif., to help the city further fund its local disability-related efforts. According to the organization's Web site, the winning community was chosen based on its demonstration of "an exceptional commitment to offering its citizens with disabilities full and equal opportunities to participate in the life of their community."\nMartha Jacques, director of Office of Disability Services for Students at IU, sites the tiring efforts of Bloomington's Council for Community Accessibility as earning Bloomington the award. \n"The committee has been very active watching, dogging, looking around and finding disability problems," she said. "The Council for Community Accessibility has been a very active force for pursuing change." \nThe council has worked with local business, restaurants and the College Mall to raise disability awareness, Jacques said. But she said there is always work to do when looking to improve disability access and awareness. \n"It's a work in progress," she said. "It's not the kind of thing that is ever completely finished. People always need to be aware of issues that might serve as barriers for individuals."\nTherefore, she said Bloomington should not rest because it has been recognized for its accessibility. Changing attitudes, overcoming stereotypes and characterizing people for their abilities rather than their limitations could all be improved, she said.\nTransportation for people with disabilities is a specific area in which Jacques says Bloomington could improve. The city buses stop running at midnight, which poses a problem for someone who must use public transportation. Bloomington's taxi cabs can't transport people in electric wheelchairs because they cannot be folded and put into a backseat. \n"These people are kind of like Cinderella," Jacques said. "They have to be home when it turns midnight because after that, the buses don't run.\nFor further information about next year's Accessible America contest or the National Organization on Disabilities' other programs, visit www.nod.org. \nAssistant Region Editor Lindsay Baron contributed to this report.