24. Empowering independence for everyone
In this episode of Storylines, hosts Brittany and Ricardo are celebrating Disability Pride Month! First, they speak with April Reed from Ability360 about the organization and how transportation empowers the disability community. Then, they talk to Litchfield Park City Manager Matthew Williams about the RideChoice program as a new transportation option in the city.
Transcript
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your daily commute? Or how transportation impacts the community you call home? Maybe you wanna explore outside your community and don't know where to start. Well, you're in luck, because this is where you hop on. I'm Brittany Hoffman and I work in Communications for Valley Metro. In this podcast, we'll discover all the ways that public transit enhances lives across the Valley. Welcome to Storylines.
I'm excited for this episode of Storylines because I have another new co-host joining me. On this episode, Ricardo Tejada, our Lead Customer Experience Coordinator, is with us. He's in charge of those bright, friendly faces that you can see out on the light rail line helping passengers every single day. Ricky, can you tell us what your team does out on the light rail?
Ricky:Yeah, definitely. So I lead that great team of the bright yellow-shirted Valley Metro folks who day by day go out there and ride trains and work the platforms and just give assistance to all of our great riders in any way, shape or form. If that's purchasing a ticket on our ticket vending machines, if they need directions to get to a destination, or if they just need that little extra piece of help getting on and off of the train or sitting in the designated areas for certain folks. We're just there to provide assistance to all of our rail passengers.
Brittany:Ricky, I know I love seeing you guys out on the system. You're always ready to help all of our passengers. On this episode of Storylines, we are talking to guests who know all about transportation for the ADA community and how it is expanding.
And first, we're going to hear from one of our Valley Metro partners, Ability360.
April:Hi, I'm April Reed. I'm the Vice President of Advocacy at Ability360.
Ricky:Thank you, April. And can you provide a brief overview of Ability360?
April:Ability360 is a non profit organization here in Phoenix. We are what's called a center for independent living. And so sometimes that can be confusing for people. They think "assisted living" and that we have housing. But actually, the whole goal of centers for independent living is to support people with disabilities in being in the community and staying independent into the community and finding ways to reach goals that meet their needs and help them find productive, exciting ways to participate and contribute in the community.
So we work with anyone with a disability. Many of the services are free. So we do a little bit of everything. We work one on one with individuals who have independent living goals that they'd like to have to support, case management services, we have an employment program that helps people who are in job search, want to return to work after a diagnosis or an injury.
We have an amazing sports and fitness center where people can come and get connected and work on health and nutrition, join team sports. We do tournaments and all sorts of community activities at that sports and fitness center. And our largest program is our home care program, which is training and employing caregivers who again help people stay in the community in their own homes, independent, by providing supports like cooking, cleaning, dressing...
And so those programs are really focused on people finding their goals, finding independence. And then my department, we get to work on advocacy. We teach self advocacy, independence, self determination goals. We work with the community to understand their civil rights and understand how they can speak up and have a voice and create that independent lifestyle that they're wanting.
Brittany: u guys have been around since: April:The anniversary of the ADA is really special, not just to Ability360, but to people with disabilities across the nation. The passage of the ADA, we view that, and I view that as a person with a disability myself, as our Independence Day. That is the civil rights legislation for people with disabilities. That is the law that provided protections for people with disabilities to say that we should have equal access and equal opportunity. And it opened so many doors for people with disabilities. It radically changed the community.
And so before the ADA, um, people would often say, oh, there's not many people with disabilities in the community. But what they didn't understand was that people with disabilities couldn't access the community. There weren't ramps, there wasn't sign language interpreting that was provided. We weren't thinking about access and inclusion. And so people with disabilities really gathered together and were inspired by the civil rights movement and saw what Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement did for the African-American community and said, we want that too. We want civil rights. We want those protections. And so it was a very grassroots effort across the nation of people with disabilities gathering.
And the father of the ADA, that's a gentleman named Justin Dart. And Justin and his wife traveled across the nation collecting stories from people with disabilities. And they were here in Phoenix all those years ago and met with people here and said, "What are the barriers for you? What prevents your independence? Why do we need a civil rights law?" And people wrote down their stories and recorded their stories and Justin and his wife took that back to Congress, and they had a hearing, and the story goes that Justin literally brought in boxes to the point that it piled up on the table so high you couldn't see him sitting behind the table and said to that committee in Congress, here's the evidence that we need the Americans with Disabilities Act. We need a civil rights law to protect people with disabilities and to provide that access and that ability to enter the community.
The 33rd anniversary of the ADA on the 26th is our opportunity to acknowledge what all of those advocates did to protest, those who spoke up and told their stories. It's also our opportunity to acknowledge that there's so much more work to be done. And it's our opportunity to focus on how we build on what those heroes, those advocates did to get the ADA passed and how do we continue to improve the services, the programs and the access for people with disabilities today and going forward.
Ricky:And I just want to touch a little bit on a point that you made about access, being able to move to and from and how that is so vital. How do you think public transportation has helped your clients and your visitors?
April:So I hear from people every day that would not be able to get to work, would not be able to go to school, would not be able to go shopping, come to Ability360, if it weren't for public transportation, the light rail and paratransit and Dial-a-Ride. Those services are critical for so many people in our community. I don't drive because of my physical disability. There's lots of people in our community who are not able to physically be able to have a car and drive somewhere. And so having access to public transportation in their community is critical for them to be involved and to be independent and work and live.
And so those services are really valued by our community. They're very important to our community. And if anything, when you talk to people with disabilities about public transportation, what you're gonna hear is we need more. We need more opportunities. We need more funding. We need more light rail. We need more bus routes. Because for those of us who live in the Valley area, we understand what a privilege that is and how much access we have because we're in that metropolitan area, but we don't forget about the people with disabilities who are living in our rural communities who don't yet have access to public transit and who are waiting for that to come to their community and want the independence and the opportunity that that will provide them.
So it's really... transit is very vital to so many in the disability community. And it's very important to Ability360 as an organization. We kind of laugh sometimes and say we have a carousel of Dial-a-Rides dropping off all the time. We're right off the bus. We're right off the light rail. But that's critical for people to be able to access our services and come here and take a class, take an advocacy class, take a cooking class, go work out at the sports and fitness center, attend an event. For many, that would never happen if they didn't have access to that public transportation.
Brittany:April, you've described the importance of public transportation in accessing Ability360 and Maricopa County as a whole. If Prop 400 extension isn't approved, what does that mean for Ability360 and the disability community?
April:So advocates and people within the disability community have been very closely following the process to extend Prop 400. And of course that funding for the last 25 years has been very valuable to the disability community. We've seen light rail expanded, we've seen bus routes expanded, we've seen more Dial-a-Ride drivers.
And so, if you're talking to somebody with low vision or blindness, you're talking to somebody with a physical disability where they're not able to drive. Knowing what Prop 400 has done the last 25 years and knowing we have this opportunity to extend that, that has been something that's very critical to the disability community and that people have been following.
And so when I talk to people about Prop 400, oftentimes they want the broader community to understand how important that funding is. That half-cent sales tax has been used to expand our transit, but for people with disabilities, expanded their opportunity for access in the community. And so I'm often talking to people who've said I've reached out to my legislators, I've talked to city leaders. I'm talking to my neighbors. I want them to understand what transit means to me. I've gotten involved. I've gone down to the capitol. I've listened to testimony. I've given testimony.
Because this is so important to people with disabilities in our community as a whole. And we understand that for the future, we're going to have more need for public transit, not less need, from the disability community perspective. We can't afford cuts. And so if you talk to someone with a disability right now who's using public transit, that's what they'll tell you, is we can't afford cuts. We need more services. There's more people out there that we still need to give the ability to get out of their home, to get into the community. And they want to see Prop 400 extended. And for that to go to the voters and the voters to have an opportunity to vote and to support the half-cent sales tax extension.
Ricky:Thank you, April. And, think we're all looking forward to that Prop 400 going through not only for transit, but also for all the other folks that do need that. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
April:Well, again, I think it's important for us, as we talk about July is the anniversary of the ADA and July is also Disability Pride Month, that we make that connection about the history, the work that's been done, how much more accessible our community is today than it was before the passage of the ADA. And I think as a disability community, and as Ability360 represents the people we have the privilege to serve, I think our community as a whole has an opportunity to say, let's not stop. Let's push forward. We have an opportunity to commit to making access to us available to anyone, no matter where they live.
And I think that this month is a reminder for, for all of us as disability representatives and disability allies, even if you don't have a disability, many in community know someone or have a family member, step up and speak up and support access and know that Prop 400 and public transit, that's key to us creating a future where people with disabilities are fully integrated into every aspect of the community. We've done a lot, but we can do more. And Prop 400 is a part of that. And I just hope people will continue to get educated, to talk to people with disabilities you know, and to speak up for the community and, and the access needs of the community, and build on the legacy of the ADA, and celebrate that by taking action.
Brittany:April, if there are people with disabilities or disability allies who would want to learn more or get resources, how do they do that?
April:They can contact Ability360. Go to our website, www.ability360.org. There's phone numbers and ways for you to connect with us to learn more about our programming. We're happy to answer questions if you have interest in a particular service or a particular need. And if you want to get involved with efforts around advocacy and access, we have a great email listserv called Empower. We don't bug you, I promise, but we'll tell you about policy issues and opportunities for people to get involved and support the disability community, including ways you can support Prop 400.
Brittany: nd we did a big thing back in: Ricky:Very familiar.
Brittany:Did you know that it has special features for ADA community members?
Ricky:I did not know that. Tell me more.
Brittany:So we really thought about this design for the community that was going to be accessing this station and what they needed. And so this station actually has cool features where if you're in a mobility device or anytime you enter the platform area before the crosswalk, you don't actually have to hit the crosswalk walk button. There are sensors so you can just wait there and you're going to get that light to cross the street. So we knew that sometimes those crosswalk buttons are a little hard to hit for certain members of our community. And so we added this feature. And then additionally, we made those platforms even wider than our typical platform so that more mobility devices could fit there and more people could fit on the platform at one time. Isn't that amazing?
Ricky:I think that's great! It's something that I learned. I didn't even notice that that platform was wider than all of the other 42 that we have.
Brittany:Yes. So, exciting design choices that we made specifically for that platform. I know that the community came out that day, they were so excited, and it's just been a great addition to our system.
Ricky:After the break, we're going to hear from a city expanding their transportation options for the ADA community.
Peter:Be a part of the pollution solution. Commit to taking transit or telecommuting at least one day a week to cut down on greenhouse gases. For air quality information and resources, go to CleanAirMakeMore.com.
Alex:It's back to school for students in the Valley. That means more traffic, bicycles, and pedestrians on Valley streets. Remember to stay alert when on or near buses, light rail trains, and streetcars.
Peter:Keep in touch with us on social media. Search for Valley Metro on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok.
Brittany:Ricky, April from Ability360 made it very clear. Prop 400 is vital to getting more transportation options for the ADA community. One city who is already expanding their transportation options is Litchfield Park. So let's hear how they're going to offer more transportation in their city.
Matthew:Matthew Williams, City Manager, City of Litchfield Park.
Ricky:Could you give us something historical about the city of Litchfield Park? What makes it so special?
Matthew:How much time do we have?
Ricky:Take as long as you like!
Matthew: . Litchfield came here in the:And the story why is seriously when they were planted so that when executives landed in Phoenix they could look to the west and see the palm trees. Because at that time there was nothing but desert between the airport and Litchfield Park. It's hard to imagine now. The reason that the orange trees here are painted white, it's because they sunburn. Children often ask that in the community, and orange trees do sunburn. So our citrus trees you'll see are all painted white around the base so they don't burn. Because that's another thing Litchfield Park is known for, is for our thousands of orange trees.
Ricky:I've learned some great things about Litchfield Park now! I feel like this was such a great benefit for everyone.
Brittany:Matthew, Litchfield Park is doing something interesting because they are adding more transportation options for people to get around Litchfield Park. What made you guys want to do that?
Matthew:It was actually citizen requested. We had many citizens come to us and ask us if there was these type of services available and currently we didn't have anything. There is no bus service available in Litchfield Park, no commercial, or otherwise. They're in our surrounding cities, but not here.
So we looked at many different options. We are aware of what other cities offer, what they do. But we knew that our use here was limited as we are a smaller city of about 7,000 people. So we looked at various options and found ones that worked for us, some that didn't. And decided it was something to move forward and offer to our citizens.
Ricky:Yeah, and with all those different options, what made you guys choose the RideChoice program?
Matthew:Well, there are many different reasons. One was what our needs based are. Of course, we look at the demographics of the city, who would be most likely to use these things, where would they be going, how would it benefit our citizens. Obviously, cost was an option. Some cities use easily 800,000 to a million dollars a year on bus services. That's not something realistic of a city of our size, just to be honest. So we looked at that. And again, we looked at where our citizens wanted to go, and we found that most people that were contacting us that were in need of this service were individuals with ADA needs or also individuals of a certain age. So that's where we focused on.
Brittany:How do you think choosing the RideChoice program is going to benefit your citizens in Litchfield Park?
Matthew:I think it will help our citizens a lot. Again, because it's something that's not currently offered at all. So adding this, I think will be a great addition to the city. Of course, people can choose to use Uber, Lyft, there's various commercial services, but I think this would be a great addition that people can use and have this available.
It's a great deal. It's a great cost for our citizens. And again, there are people that need this. Many of our citizens that contacted us were, again, citizens with ADA issues with disabilities. One particular individual was actually blind and was legally blind and was crossing a very busy city street.
So this is something that's very much needed. We also had individuals that were going to work and we're having real issues getting there. They just didn't have ways to get there and didn't have any another option. And of course, we have older citizens as well that can't drive anymore and needed the service. So I think for certain groups of people in the city, it'd be very important with, because oftentimes we don't realize that certain people, they need these things and everybody needs a way to get around.
Brittany:Mm-hm.
Ricky:Well, it seems like the citizens of Litchfield Park asked and you guys came and delivered. What's the goal for this pilot program?
Matthew:I would say just provide the service. It is a pilot program. We're going to see how it goes. Of course, some people need it if they utilize it, and we hope they do. That's what it's here for. Again, it's set for these certain groups of people, and I hope they utilize it. We'll see. It's interesting to see how many citizens use it. We did look at other cities and how their citizens utilize them, and oftentimes it's a small group of citizens that use the service many times. For example, someone that may have dialysis. They may need to go two and three times a week and not have a way to go. Obviously, this is a very, it's a life and death situation for them. So it's something that they really need. So again, it benefits a small group of people, but it's people that use it a lot, people that need it.
And we hope they do. We hope it's very successful. And we'll see where it goes from there, what changes we can make. Maybe there's other groups that need to be added, maybe not. For example, our current services are for ADA individuals and people over 65 years old. Maybe we should add veterans of any age, who knows, but let's see what the ridership looks like and see what should be added. We're always open to change.
Brittany:Service started July 1st. Have you already seen people utilizing the service?
Matthew:I have had calls about it, people asking about how to do it, how to sign up for it, etc. So there is an interest. And I will say at the council meeting we had several citizens that were very happy to see this offered. Again, people that really need it.
Brittany:Is there anything else you wanted to add?
Matthew:I would just add that Valley Metro has been great. They've been great partners with us with coming out and meet with us, talking with our staff, with our citizens about the service, give us all the information and really helping to mold it for Litchfield Park for our needs. We look forward to offering this to our citizens in partnership with Valley Metro, and let's see how it goes.
Ricky:Very excited that Litchfield Park has joined the RideChoice program, if you do need any more information about RideChoice, please visit Valleymetro.org/ridechoice.
Brittany:It's always great to hear transportation options expanding in the Valley, whether it's for the ADA community or all of our riders. And so during Disability Pride Month, if you want to learn more about the ADA community or get involved as an ally, April gave us great resources. So go to Ability360.org to see how you can get involved.
Ricky, it's been a great time having you on this episode of Storylines.
Ricky:Thank you for having me, I had a lot of fun.
Brittany:Well, hopefully we'll have you back. And if you've missed any episodes of Storylines, you know you can always check them out. Visit Valleymetro.org/Storylines and make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Ricky:For Valley Metro, I'm Ricky.
Brittany:I'm Brittany.
Ricky:Thanks for riding with us.
Brittany:We'll meet you at the next stop.
Storylines is produced by Alex Tsotsos and Dane Ryals. Peter Corkery is the executive producer. I'm Brittany Hoffman. Thanks for listening.
