An Undignified Entry onto the Stage
Saturday, February 4, 2012
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I, once again, had a rather interesting experience with non-accommodation in Kingston.
On Feb 3, 2012 Open Voices Choir was invited to sing at Kingston's Feb Fest. The thing is they didn't think to put up the accessible stage, complete with a ramp, that they purchased in the Fall of 2011 for the Rick Hansen Torch Relay Event. It could have been used and yet, for reasons I cannot explain, they chose to use the old stage.
I've been in the choir for 10 years and, in the past, I've always shown up at these events. I thought the days of entering the stage on my butt was over. I guess I better think again.
I allowed this video to be taken in order to educate the world about the importance of THINKING about how to accommodate at all times.
Today I added an audio commentary that hopefully provides enough details to give one the full drift of how I had to be carried on stage. The video doesn't really show a good picture of what exactly is going on, so I'll describe it here.
I wheel over to the base of the steps and then transfer my butt onto the bottom step. Some guys then move in and try to figure out how best to get me up the steps. Some grab my shoulders, some grab my legs, and I'm grabbing the railing to give myself the heave ho as I try to work with them to get myself up the steps. A wooden chair has been placed on the stage so, once I'm at the top, the guys lift me up onto it. I'm so glad the chair was wooden and not metal this time. Once it was metal and it was painfully cold.
It's all rather humiliating but I let the video be taken because I'm sick and tired of the city not accommodating. I figured a You Tube video would embarrass them enough to wake them up. It's obvious that writing letters of complaint and doing all those other so-called "normal" things they want us to do to get improved access, is not working AT ALL!!
I should add that the ramp to the raised platform by the skating rink, so a person in a wheelchair could see over the boards, was all blocked off with a big huge fence. This meant the other person who was there using a wheelchair couldn't see a darn thing that was going on out on the ice. It was just a free skate last night, but today and tomorrow there will be figure skating and a hockey game in celebration of Feb Fest. I hope, beyond hope that they move the fence and let the wheelchair users do more than just gawk at the absolutely useless ramp and platform.
Anyway, here is the link to my very undignified entry onto the stage last night.
Please Read my Other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
On Feb 3, 2012 Open Voices Choir was invited to sing at Kingston's Feb Fest. The thing is they didn't think to put up the accessible stage, complete with a ramp, that they purchased in the Fall of 2011 for the Rick Hansen Torch Relay Event. It could have been used and yet, for reasons I cannot explain, they chose to use the old stage.
I've been in the choir for 10 years and, in the past, I've always shown up at these events. I thought the days of entering the stage on my butt was over. I guess I better think again.
I allowed this video to be taken in order to educate the world about the importance of THINKING about how to accommodate at all times.
Today I added an audio commentary that hopefully provides enough details to give one the full drift of how I had to be carried on stage. The video doesn't really show a good picture of what exactly is going on, so I'll describe it here.
I wheel over to the base of the steps and then transfer my butt onto the bottom step. Some guys then move in and try to figure out how best to get me up the steps. Some grab my shoulders, some grab my legs, and I'm grabbing the railing to give myself the heave ho as I try to work with them to get myself up the steps. A wooden chair has been placed on the stage so, once I'm at the top, the guys lift me up onto it. I'm so glad the chair was wooden and not metal this time. Once it was metal and it was painfully cold.
It's all rather humiliating but I let the video be taken because I'm sick and tired of the city not accommodating. I figured a You Tube video would embarrass them enough to wake them up. It's obvious that writing letters of complaint and doing all those other so-called "normal" things they want us to do to get improved access, is not working AT ALL!!
I should add that the ramp to the raised platform by the skating rink, so a person in a wheelchair could see over the boards, was all blocked off with a big huge fence. This meant the other person who was there using a wheelchair couldn't see a darn thing that was going on out on the ice. It was just a free skate last night, but today and tomorrow there will be figure skating and a hockey game in celebration of Feb Fest. I hope, beyond hope that they move the fence and let the wheelchair users do more than just gawk at the absolutely useless ramp and platform.
Anyway, here is the link to my very undignified entry onto the stage last night.
Please Read my Other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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