Accessibility Group

For people with disabilities living in the Jefferson City area, being fully involved in the community hasn’t always been easy.  Many barriers to access exist and have the un-intended effect of keeping people with disabilities out of the mainstream, unable to access services, and unable to participate fully in all that Jefferson City has to offer its residents.

Many changes have already been enacted to improve accessibility for all residents; however, there are still accessibility issues from public facilities to housing, businesses, education, and preventative medical care.  When people with disability choices are limited to those options with the fewest obstacles, this has an impact not only on the person with a disability but also on the family and friends accompanying the person with a disability.  This also has a financial impact on the community as barriers to accessibility can conceivably prohibit persons with disabilities and their families from conducting business at certain locations.

A number of helpful changes can be done at a small cost that will accomplish the goals of the ADA enabling persons with disabilities to look forward to being active members of the Jefferson City community for a long time to come.

An Accessibility Group is forming to assist with community and local housing accessibility issues.  This group would work with city groups and consist of persons with disabilities, service partners, medical providers, and business and civic leaders to work with the City of Jefferson on issues including more accessible housing and building code evaluations.

The first meeting of the Accessibility Group will be Thursday, May 29 at 8:30 a.m.  This meeting will be held at ILRC, 1760 Southridge Drive, Jefferson City, MO  65109.  There is no cost associated with belonging to the Accessibility Group.  Please RSVP to Jeremy Murray at 573-556-0400 X1011 or jeremy@ilrcjcmo.org no later than May 22.