Getting where you need to go
Data-driven decision-making enables organizations to make informed choices by relying on accurate and objective insights rather than doing what we've always done.
I appreciate American Foundation for the Blind's emphasis on empowerment through knowledge. AFB's website features a variety of easy to understand research summaries.One study known as the Flatten Inaccessibility Survey really grabbed my attention.
AFB conducted the Flatten Inaccessibility Survey in April 2020. Input came from 1,921 participants who are blind or low vision. It was conducted during COVID-19 yet the findings continue to resonate post-pandemic.
The survey asked participants about their lived experience with accessibility. Lack of transportation and inaccessibility of technology tools people need to access their environment topped the list.
Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed worried about transportation barriers. Sixty percent said inaccessibility of technology tools.
Based on this research AFB recommended:
essential public health information must be accessible to people who are blind or have low vision
technology must be accessible based on current standards especially for needs such as grocery delivery and telehealth
providers should work with local governments to offer transportation alternatives when options are limited or stopped due to an emergency and
improvements must be made to transportation access including sidewalks
drive-thru or curbside pick-up services need alternatives for non-drivers.
To download the report or read the entire report online click here.
Non-drivers need accessible and flexible transportation options to become employed. Whether due to disability, age, or economic barriers, millions of people rely on public transit, ride-sharing, and specialized services to access work, healthcare, and community activities.
At the risk of stating the obvious, most decision-makers are drivers. They do not know what they do not know.
I wonder what it would be like if agency leaders over Aging, Disability, Public Health, Mental Health, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Transportation hosted a listening session to hear how non-drivers experience the systems they design?
We can align policy and funding to address inaccessibility, allocate resources efficiently, and improve employment outcomes for all non-drivers.
The AFB survey data shows we aren't there yet.
Until we learn to see our current systems accurately- the negative and the positive- we will not rise to the level of our goals, we will fall to the level of our systems (quoting James Clear, Atomic Habits).
What is one tiny step we can take toward this goal today?