Inclusion Access

Josh Marshall

To find out more visit Josh’s Website at:Inclusionaccess.com.au

What do you normally take with you when you go out to your favourite café or restaurant? Your wallet or your phone? Of course. But would you take a tape measure with you? If you are Josh Marshall from the Inclusion Access Project, the answer is—you wouldn’t be without it.

Josh Marshall is the founder and Co-Director of a brand new social enterprise, Inclusion Access. The project aims to improve the disability community’s access to all public venues and events, starting with the local cafes and restaurants around Toowoomba.

It all began when Josh became a full time wheelchair user.

”I would go out with my wife and friends, like usual, but suddenly I found there were places I just couldn’t get to anymore.”

Josh began to take note of which restaurants and cafes were suitable to go to in his wheelchair and which ones weren’t, and he soon realised that other members of the community who are wheelchair users or have other mobility issues might also benefit from knowing which venues were easily accessible.

With this in mind, Josh started at website of his own where he could share his feedback about the accessibility of different venues around town, even devising a ratings scale that would help him explain his experience.

“I was a nursing educator for more than 15 years, so I used my own knowledge, as well as the advice of other health professionals I knew, to devise a scale that made sense and looked at accessibility features consistently and reliably.

Then he began visiting food venues around Toowoomba, noting his experiences and applying the rating scale.

But he didn’t just take his measurements and leave anonymous negative feedback on social media as some people might do. The huge

impact this project has already made is largely due to the fact that Josh and his teammates are taking an open and honest approach to their investigations, involving the owners or managers of each venue in the process from the very start.

Josh explains, “I always ask to speak to the owner or manager. Then I’ll give them a letter that explains the project and how the rating scale works, and let them know that the rating will be posted on the website and Facebook page.”

And then what usually happens is that the owners and managers of the venue down with Josh to discuss what can be done to improve their accessibility.

“It’s amazing how open they are to this idea once we start talking,” says Josh. “I’ve found that noone is making decisions to prevent accessibility on purpose, it’s just that they’ve never really thought about it before.”

Although it is only in its early stages, the project has already drawn the support of additional team members, including media expert and passionate disability advocate, Kim Stokes.

“This project is already making a difference,” she says, a smile beaming across her features. “It really is a fantastic project with so much potential to help so many people.”

Josh, Kim and the team are working hard to make sure Inclusion Access helps remove barriers wherever they find them.