Last winter, United Spinal Association was contracted to perform accessibility site assessments for various cultural venues throughout the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area on behalf of Art-Reach, a Delaware Valley nonprofit cultural service organization that helps underserved audiences to experience arts and cultural programming and that serves as a community resource by increasing accessibility to cultural venues and events. Since then, United Spinal has reviewed the accessibility of a number of facilities throughout the Philadelphia area, including: The Bryn Mawr Film Institute, The Chester County Historical Society, The Mandel Theater, The Bristol Riverside Theater and WHYY Studios, to name a few.
Art-Reach maintains an on-line guide to cultural venues that contains information for people with disabilities regarding the physical accessibility of these facilities, as well as details on the program access provided and the availability of assisted listening devices, Braille or large print materials and other programs that are designed for visitors with disabilities. United Spinal Association performs accessibility assessments of venues as they register with Art-Reach to be placed in the on-line access guide, which can be viewed at www.art-reach.org. United Spinal’s Compliance Specialists use the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Checklist for Existing Facilities to evaluate the physical accessibility afforded to patrons with disabilities. We then prepare an accessibility report for management at each facility, which they can use to improve accessibility deficiencies as needed.
In 1986 Art-Reach entered the Philadelphia arts arena with a mission that would touch the lives of thousands of people. Their goal is to bring the arts to audiences who otherwise might not have this opportunity. In addition to providing information regarding the physical accessibility of facilities, Art-Reach also bridges the gap between unused tickets for performing and visual arts events and those people who never have the opportunity to see a play or go to a museum. Since 1986, Art-Reach has obtained over 187,000 donated and discounted tickets from over 125 ticket donors and distributed them to over 150 human service agencies serving special-needs audiences. These audiences include individuals with physical or mental disabilities, the elderly in need, consumers of domestic violence or recovery programs, and clients with economic disadvantages.
United Spinal is proud to assist Art-Reach in their efforts to bring the arts to people with disabilities. If you would like to learn more about Art-Reach and its programs and services, please visit their website at www.art-reach.org. If you would like to learn more about the Accessibility Services Program and our site assessment services, you can contact Jennifer Perry at 610-757-0044.
