We Hate Stairs is a very focused website it was created and is focused on helping our society become more accessible for those with disabilities and mobility issues.
I will admit right off the bat, that I speak from my own experience of being born with Cerebral Palsy and using and manual wheelchair to get around. I have full sensation and I am blessed to be able to walk with an assertive device for short periods of time. I also drive a car and live independently.
I created this website and my business of Accessibility Consultation out of necessity. I have been involved in the business world through many previous jobs as well as many previous attempts at being an entrepreneur. I am constantly meeting new people and discovering new businesses. A surprising amount of these businesses are not accessible, meaning I cannot even enter the building!
This both frustrated and intrigued me. It was at this point I looked at some of the reasons a business may not be accessible.
Awareness, meaning a lot of have no clue what it is like to be disabled in society and more importantly accessibility for all means more than what “building codes” address!
I don’t know what needs to be done to be more accessible, meaning what changes will I need to make as a business?
The last and I believe the BIGGEST reason for a lack of accessibility, is MONEY! There I said it! I know there will be people out there that will disagree and they will go as far as to argue with me on this point. ( I have been in many debates about the subject of accessibility ). However, when I explain to business owners that people with disabilities have money to spend AND WANT TO SPEND IT IN YOUR BUSINESS, it changes the conversations greatly. I actually use math and tangible numbers to illustrate my point How we help.
It is not just money from business owners that will cure this issue the governments and municipalities need to make accessibility a priority, not only in terms of the customers of businesses but for potential employees as well.
About 25 per cent of British Columbians have a university degree.
In comparison, 17 percent of people with a disability have a university
degree while 33 percent have a non-university post-secondary certificate.
Source: Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, 2011, Statistics Canada
The employment rate for people with disabilities is 18 percentage points
lower than for people without a disability.
Source: Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2006, Statistics Canada
What these above stats don’t mention, is that most people with a disability enjoy routine in their working environment so businesses that hire someone with a disability will have less turnover.