Have you heard of Accessibility Services? Chances are, you haven’t. You might be surprised to find that while you haven’t heard of them, you’ve likely benefited from their work and their vital role in the United Spinal Association’s mission of disability inclusion and equality, and have been for over 30 years.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed 30 years ago, yet I don’t need to tell you that many places are still not up to code. Hundreds of museums, hotels and colleges big and small are still lagging on accessible bathrooms, wide enough walkways or even ramps. That’s where Accessibility Services comes in.
They’re made up of a group of people who’ve dedicated their lives to accessibility in the country’s infrastructure. It’s lead by Dominic Marinelli, who’s been with the United Spinal Association for over 25 years and serves as the chair of the American National Standard Institute Residential Committee.
The team is a trusted resource for their collective knowledge of what accessibility looks like and their dedication to educating others. It’s a constant exercise in sharing their expertise for the collective good. And it’s paid off! Accessibility Services was chosen by the New York Mets to advise on making sure that the new Citi Field was up to code upon opening. As someone who’s visited Citi Field several times, you can tell it was built with a wheelchair user in mind. They perfectly match practicality with aesthetics, so accessibility feels natural even though there’s always so much work going into the accessibility process.
What They Do
Accessibility Services is working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that your favorite places across the country meet accessibility standards. The team is small yet mighty made up of established architects and accessibility experts with nine full-time staff and United Spinal regularly lending its own staff to help.
Accessibility Services:
- Provide trainings for architects and construction companies on all accessibility codes and standards at federal, state and local levels.
- Tour facilities and giving feedback on how accessible a location is and what needs to change, with Accessible Design Services
- Participate in the development and improvement of the accessibility codes and standards across the US
- Review development plans to ensure they’re up to code
- Conduct accessibility inspections of arenas, museums, schools, government buildings and more
- Act as witnesses and as a resource during litigation for lawsuits and complaints
“United Spinal’s Accessibility Services and its predecessor organization, Eastern Paralyzed Veterans of America, has been deeply involved in the development of accessibility codes and standards for over 30 years,” said Marsha Mazz, Director of Accessibility Codes and Standards at Accessibility Services. “We believe that excellence in code enforcement, honest interpretations regardless of their outcome, and working with other interest groups who may not always have our same values is the most effective way to advocate for accessibility throughout the built environment.”
Impacts of COVID
As with any organization, COVID-19 impacted how Accessibility Services conducted its work but certainly weren’t deterred. The team pivoted their typically in-person trainings to be online, which provided an opportunity to reach more people.
And while construction and real estate restrictions temporarily halted on-site inspections, the team found that places getting ready to re-open needed extra guidance. With that, Accessibility Services developed a playbook on how businesses could implement the CDC guidelines while still meeting accessibility standards.
Where You’ll See Their Work
As mentioned, the work of United Spinal’s Accessibility Services is all over without you even realizing it. From the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City to the San Diego Zoo, these locations give wheelchair users a level of comfort that comes with knowing someone created the space with them in mind. That’s because they did! They’re also in less obvious spaces, like corporate offices of large companies, making sure workspaces are designed to be inclusive for all.
But Accessibility Services goes beyond that, in ways we don’t see. The team is working constantly behind the scenes on the International Code Council Consensus Committee to advise on new codes.
The Future is Wheelchair Friendly
Accessibility Services is excited for the future and are to seeing that code officials are increasingly enforcing accessibility. Perhaps most exciting, is that architects and developers are requesting trainings at higher rates, signaling that knowledge of accessibility is a key tenet to success in the real estate industry. As the country progresses, businesses understand that disabled people are an important thread and must be inclusive, and they look to United Spinal’s Accessibility Services to help make them accessible.
If you’d like to learn more about the Accessibility Services team or get in touch, you can reach them here.
Check out this recent United on Wheels podcast where special guests from the Accessibility Services team join our host Paul Amadeus Lane to discuss progress in building an inclusive world for wheelchair users and all people with disabilities.
—Kristen Parisi, Contributing Writer, United Spinal Association