Disability Awareness Month MAKING YOUR COMMUNITY A LIVABLE COMMUNITY What makes a community a great place to live? Is it quality housing, transportation and education, or complete streets and access to vital goods and services? A livable community is all of these things and more. The definition of a livable community is one that “has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, and adequate mobility options, which together facilitate personal independence and the engagement of residents in civic and social life.” Many people become overwhelmed when thinking about all that’s involved in making an existing community move “livable.” You may think, “I’m not an architect. I can’t build buildings, streets and other infrastructure necessary to make my community more livable.” However, there are many steps we can all take to make our communities more welcoming and sustaining for people of all ages and abilities. Some of these things include: •
Plant community gardens
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Develop a community-wide book-lending program
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Establish a neighborhood recycling initiative
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Become an active participant in your city’s planning and transportation efforts
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Start or participate in a Neighborhood Watch program
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Create an amateur theater group
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Organize and/or support local farmers markets
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Lead efforts to establish a Complete Streets ordinance
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Start a time bank in your community
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The Governor’s Council has included PDFs of the 2013 Community Connections poster and Community Connections teaching tool on the Disability Awareness Month CD and website (indianadisabilityawareness.org). Use these materials to educate and illustrate the key elements of a livable, accessible community to government leaders, community organizations, schools and other advocates. Planting a community garden The first decision you’ll have to make when considering a community garden is: Is there a need for a garden and what kind of garden will it be – vegetable, flower or a combination of both? Next, create a garden committee comprised of family, friends and neighbors. Consider inviting local vocational and horticultural leaders, teachers and students to participate as well. Working with the committee, identify potential plots of land for your garden based on location, accessibility, availability of water and amount of sunlight. After you’ve identified possible garden locations, contact the owner(s) of the land to obtain permission to plant the garden. Your committee may need to obtain garden insurance - a special form of liability insurance - before the landowner will allow you to plant on his/her property. Engage local gardening clubs, horticultural services, nurseries or other experts in helping you plot and prepare your garden. Consider who will be using the garden when you are planning: Do you need to set aside small plots for children to garden? How do you make the garden accessible for people with disabilities? Numerous resources are available online and at your local library for creating raised garden beds and boxes that sit up off the ground, making it much more accessible for people with disabilities and older adults. Now the real work begins! Vegetable and flower plants can be purchased at any local nursery, hardware or garden store. You may be able to obtain donated plants from local nurseries, your local parks department, horticultural and garden societies and vocational schools. Mark your garden with a sign to let everyone know it’s a community garden and then make arrangements, with your committee, for maintaining the garden.
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Whether you decide to sell your produce at a local farmer’s market, donate it to a local food bank or use it in other ways, you and your community will benefit through increased civic and social engagement, town beautification and aiding those who have difficulty accessing fresh produce. For detailed information and resources, visit the American Community Gardening Association at www.communitygarden.org. To learn more about accessible gardening tools, visit AgrAbility at www.agrability.org. Developing a community-wide book-lending program Love to go to the library, but hate messing with transportation, book rental fees and forgetting your library card? Start a library revolution in your own town by establishing a community-wide book-lending program like Little Free Libraries, started in Hudson, Wisc. The concept is simple: make or purchase a small, mailbox-like box and place it at the edge of your property where it is easily accessible to others. Then, fill it with a few books. Invite people to borrow the books, free of charge, and return them when they are finished. Or, they can pass your books along to others, if they choose. Encourage your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and others to participate and soon, you’ll have an entire community engaging with one another, drawn together by a common love of reading. You can purchase several different kinds of pre-made little library boxes at www.littlefreelibrary.org. There are also detailed instructions for building your own box on the website. Establishing a neighborhood recycling program Recycling isn’t just the “right” thing to do, it’s critical to reducing pollution, landfills and damage to our land and wildlife. While many people have begun recycling in their homes, it’s sometimes difficult – and expensive – to do if your city doesn’t have a neighborhood recycling
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effort. The good news is that it’s fairly simple to start a community recycling initiative. Here are a few tips to get you started: 1. Contact your city’s Department of Public Works to confirm your city doesn’t already
have a curbside recycling program. If it does, find out the name of the vendor so you can work with them to increase knowledge and participation in your city or town. 2. If your community does not have a recycling effort, form your own recycling team.
This will not only help you “divide and conquer,” but will help keep your activities organized. 3. Determine what you want to recycle. The most common materials collected in a
community program are typically aluminum and steel food containers, #1 (PET) and #2 (HDPE) plastic bottles, glass, newspaper and cardboard. 4. Contact recycling vendors about their willingness (and the costs involved) to place
recycling bins in public places. Find out how these recycling bins can be made accessible for people with disabilities with regard to height and other access issues. 5. Identify the places your steering committee thinks would be appropriate in which to
locate recycling bins. If it is private property, contact the owner(s) and find out if he/she will allow recycling bins on the property. If the property is owned by the city, contact the Department of Parks or other appropriate city offices to gain permission. 6. Engage high-level supporters, including community and business leaders and others
who would be willing to assist you and your team in obtaining funding and guidance to establish the recycling program. 7. Get the word out! With no advertising budget, you’ll need to be creative to let people
know about the community recycling initiative. Contact your local newspaper, radio or television station and see if they will do a story. Partner with national groups like Keep America Beautiful, to strengthen your message. Offer to speak to local groups, like Kiwanis and Rotary, about your program. Print informational fliers and distribute them at local businesses, community centers and government buildings. Use your imagination!
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It takes some tenacity and hard work, but starting a neighborhood recycling program will make your community cleaner and more livable. For information and resources on starting a recycling program, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov/region4/rcra/mgtoolkit/starting.html or Keep America Beautiful, www.kab.org Becoming involved in community planning efforts The majority of Indiana cities and towns were designed with automobile transportation in mind – with businesses, restaurants, retail establishments and hospitals grouped together in one area of town and houses, apartments and other residential areas grouped in another part of town. This commercial verses residential zoning practice makes it extremely difficult for families to access much-needed services and products – especially people with disabilities and older adults who do not drive. The responsibility of a Planning Commission is to prepare and oversee a master plan for your city or town with regard to land use. Planning Commissions hold regular public meetings to review and discuss changes to the master city/town plan, rezoning, property encroachments and other issues. While dramatic physical changes to your city or town can’t be made quickly, you can find ways to educate yourself and become actively involved in your community’s future planning, zoning and transportation efforts to ensure any physical alterations and new construction provide access to much-needed services. Here are just a few ways you can become involved in your community’s planning efforts. 1. Contact your city or town Planning Committee to find out about upcoming meetings
or hearings that are open to residents. Attend those public meetings regularly to educate yourself about your town’s current issues and plans. 2. Ask to see your city’s plan. Someone at either your city’s Planning Committee or City
Council offices can direct you on how to obtain a copy. Or, you can search your city’s government website. For example, Indianapolis’ plan and information can be found at http://www.indy.gov/egov/city/dmd/planning/Pages/home.aspx.
Livable Community/Page 6 3. Register to become a Person of Record. Through your city’s Department of Planning
and Zoning, you can fill out a form that allows you to testify at hearings and receive updates on developments in your city or town’s planning projects. 4. Attend City Council hearings. The City Council oversees the Planning Committee,
and any significant and long-range city planning discussions will ultimately have to go before the City Council.
5. Become involved. Contact your Planning Committee to learn about ways you can
become involved in citizens committees, task forces or work groups for neighborhood planning studies. You can also become involved in your neighborhood housing association or civic association. 6. Use the PDFs of the Community Connections poster and Community Connections
teaching tool included on the Disability Awareness Month CD and website (indianadisabilityawareness.org) to illustrate the elements of a livable and accessible community and educate your City Planning Committee and other civic leaders. To learn more, download the Indiana Citizen’s Planner’s Guide available at http://rebar.ecn.purdue.edu/ltap1/resources/Publications/Indiana%20Citizen%20Planner's%20Guide.pdf
Or, visit your local city or county government website to find information on your community’s Planning and Zoning Commissions. Starting a Neighborhood Watch program A safe community, where everyone feels secure and comfortable, is a more livable community. Across the nation, Neighborhood Watch programs are making neighborhoods safer, better places to live. What’s so great about Neighborhood Watch programs is that they are run by average citizens committed to making their neighborhood the best it can be. It’s easy to start and maintain a Neighborhood Watch program - all it takes is some time and organization. Here are some tips for starting your own Neighborhood Watch program:
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First, find a group of people in your neighborhood who are committed to helping maintain a Neighborhood Watch program and get together to discuss your goals for the program. Some of these goals should include what issues need to be addressed in your community and how you plan to communicate with your friends and neighbors. Determine where your Planning Committee will meet on a regular basis and make sure that the location is accessible for everyone. It can be at someone’s house or apartment, but a local school or community center, if accessible for people with disabilities, may be a better option.
At one of your early meetings, invite a local crime prevention or police officer to speak to your group about crime issues in your community and how your Neighborhood Watch program can help. Many local law enforcement agencies have officers who are specially trained in local crime prevention. Determine who your block captain will be. This is the person who will be the spokesperson for your Neighborhood Watch group, is the liaison with local police and who organizes your group’s efforts. To help share the responsibility, this position can be rotated on a regular basis. Encourage your Neighborhood Watch group members to meet and learn about their own neighbors – their work schedules, school bus schedules, scheduled deliveries or repairs, etc. This is especially important for people with disabilities and older adults who may have regularly scheduled home care assistance, equipment or supply deliveries. If you have a disability, be sure those in your Neighborhood Watch group are aware of your disability and what accommodations need to be made to ensure effective communication, access to meeting space and the reporting of suspicious activity. Once your Neighborhood Watch is up and running, it’s important to maintain everyone’s interest and vigilance. Encourage your group to organize activities that encourage neighbors to get to know one another, such as block parties, neighborhood trash clean-up days, picnics and guest speakers.
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There are many other tips and ideas you can put to work as you organize your Neighborhood Watch. Find a checklist at the National Crime Prevention Center website at http://www.ncpc.org/cms-upload/ncpc/File/chklist.pdf or visit http://www.nnw.org/, the national website for the Neighborhood Watch Program. Creating an amateur theater group Participating in theater and the arts is a great way to get involved and socialize with those who live around you, but it also enriches the lives of everyone in your community by providing entertainment and social engagement. While starting a community theater group is hard work and takes time and effort, the results and benefits – for people with and without disabilities – are tremendous. If your community doesn’t yet have a theater group, start by visiting other community theaters and watching as many of their productions as you can. If possible, talk with the organizers, directors and lead actors to get their ideas and valuable tips. Finding an accessible, appropriate location for your rehearsals and performances is the next step. Community centers, large churches, school auditoriums and even empty office space can serve as a theater. Make some phone calls or visits to determine which spaces best meets your needs and whether you can get the space donated. Hold an informal meeting and invite family, friends, work colleagues, neighbors and anyone else you think would be interested in participating. At the meeting, determine who will be your steering committee members and discuss the types of plays you want to perform. Will it be children’s theater? Musicals? Adults-only? If your goal is to build awareness and acceptance for people with disabilities, you may want to consider some plays that feature characters with disabilities, such as Butterflies are Free, Children of a Lesser God or The Glass Menagerie. Then, determine how many plays you will perform in your first year. One or two plays per year is an ambitious goal for a new theater troupe. Once you have determined some of the logistics, you and your steering committee will want to create a name for your theater company and determine if you are going to be a free
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theater company or if you will sell tickets to help support the company and pay for expenses, such as location and costumes. Now, you’re ready for tryouts! Hold tryouts at least six months in advance of your next performance. Invite everyone in your community to participate – people of all ages, with and without disabilities – by placing information in your local newspaper, radio and/or television station, on your local cable public access channel and on community bulletin boards throughout your city or town. Then, together, with your committee, select the actors, director, set designers, lighting and sound directors, costume and stage managers, and other key players. Contact your local college or high school theater department and ask students to offer their expertise in directing, stage direction, lighting and/or set design. In exchange, see if the students can receive credit for assisting your group. Once all of the key roles have been filled, start rehearsing! Rehearse at least once per week for the first couple of months and then move to a twice-a-week rehearsal schedule. The last two or three weeks before the performance, you may need to rehearse every night. Determine a schedule that works best for your group. A key element to a successful play is a full house on opening night! To let your community know about the play, send information to your local newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, cable networks and community newsletters a month in advance and then send it out again the week before your play. Another way to get the word out is creating fliers that can be placed in all public gathering places – libraries, churches, community centers, government centers, etc. Many grocery stores and other locally operated retail establishments may also let you place your fliers in their stores. Don’t forget to ask your performers to take some fliers to work with them. Everyone, including people with disabilities, can experience a sense of community and social engagement through theater, as well as being able to express their individual talents. For resources and guidance on starting a community theater, visit the American Association of Community Theatre at aact.org, or the Indiana Community Theatre League at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indiana-Community-Theatre-League/155573291156723. In the
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Indianapolis area, visit the Theater of Inclusion’s website, theaterofinclusion.com. Please also read the Disability Awareness Month packet on Arts Programs (01-AP) for more information. Organizing a local farmer’s market Many Indiana residents aren’t able to access fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables due to transportation issues or the high cost of produce at the grocery store. Farmers markets allow inexpensive access to locally grown food while enabling individuals to personally interact with the farmers who grow the produce. If your community doesn’t yet have a farmers market, here are some tips you can follow to “plant the seed” and start your own. 1. Visit your local Chamber of Commerce to discuss starting a farmers market with
them. They will know if one already exists or if others have tried to start one in the past. 2. Find a location. You may want to attend a City Council meeting to investigate
prominent plots of city-owned property that may be used. Ideally, a prominent location with a lot of foot and car traffic works the best. Or, you may approach local business owners about using their parking lot for your market, especially during a time the business is closed. Successful farmers markets are easily accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities, older adults and the farmers. 3. Check with your county health department regarding food handling regulations.
Be aware of issues concerning prepared foods like jellies, pies and sauces sold at the market. 4. Locate and contact vendors, get their commitment and a signed contract. Use your
local news media to advertise for vendors. Other sources who can connect you with local farmers are county extension agents, cooperative extension departments at colleges/universities and the State Department of Agriculture. You will also want to have an attorney draw up a simple contract with appropriate restrictions and fees for vendors.
Livable Community/Page 11 5. Establish a governing body for the farmers market, including a market manager,
who is the main contact for the market and who implements the operating rules and regulations. Involve local farmers, a city official and other interested individuals on your committee. 6. Determine the site layout and details for farmers. Create a traffic pattern that
allows easy and convenient access for vendors and shoppers alike. Most farmers market booth spaces are approximately 10’ x 10’. 7. Get the word out! Create a large sign or banner to advertise your farmers market,
with the name, date(s) and hours of the market. Place it in a visible location that is in accordance with your city or town’s signage ordinances. You’ll also want to advertise your farmers market through local news media and by distributing fliers throughout your community. Some local businesses will even donate their sign space to not-for-profits. Or, create a couple of large banners to place in appropriate locations throughout town. If you’d like more details on starting a farmers market, visit the Agricultural Marketing Service division of the United States Department of Agriculture, http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ and click on “Farmers Markets and Local Food Marketing” in the left-hand menu. You can also find a directory of Indiana farmers markets and other information at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture website, http://www.in.gov/apps/ISDA_FarmersMarket/ These ideas are just the beginning of what can be accomplished when citizens are committed to making their communities healthy, accessible and supportive places to live. Look around your own community and see what you can do to make your city or town a livable community. Lead efforts to establish a Complete Streets ordinance Streets aren’t just for automobiles. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and people of all ages and abilities must be able to move along and cross streets in order to make our communities more
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vibrant and livable. By making your community’s streets “complete streets,” everyone can drive and bike to work or school, cross the street to go shopping or walk to the park. There is no single design for a complete street. It may include sidewalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, frequent and safe crossing opportunities, curb cuts, public transportation stops and more. The bottom line is that complete streets balance both safety, cost convenience for everyone using the road while fostering strong, engaged communities Several Indiana cities have already implemented a Complete Streets ordinance, including: Indianapolis, Bloomington (Monroe County), Madison County (Anderson), Evansville, Columbus and northwestern Indiana. If your community doesn’t have a Complete Streets initiative, here are a few easy tips for starting one.
1. Work with your neighbors and key local organizations to garner support for a
Complete Streets ordinance. Consider area agencies on aging, senior centers, landscape and gardening groups, biking and walking clubs/organizations and environmental groups. 2. Visit the Complete Streets national website, completestreets.org, for a variety of
information and resources on the subject of complete streets. 3. Consider inviting a national Complete Streets Coalition representative to present to
your City or Town Council and other community leaders and key stakeholders. 4. Form your own local Complete Streets Campaign Coalition and encourage everyone
you know to join your efforts. 5. Together with your fellow supporters, conduct walkability assessments of your city or
town’s streets and report findings to your City of Town Council. 6. Find one or two City or Town Council members who would be the most receptive to
the idea of Complete Streets and meet with them in person to educate them and ask them to help you write and sponsor an ordinance.
Livable Community/Page 13 7. Create an online or paper petition and canvas your neighborhoods to demonstrate
community-wide support for the initiative. Secure the support of area neighborhood associations. Once you have enough signatures, send copies to every member of your City or Town Council to demonstrate broad support for Complete Streets. Then, ask to speak at the next City or Town Council meeting. 8. Meet with and educate your local news media about Complete Streets so they can
help you spread the word. If you don’t succeed on your first try to pass an ordinance, don’t give up! Step back and review what elements caused the ordinance not to pass and work hard to eliminate those barriers. Close and ongoing communication with your Council members is critical. The national Complete Streets website is a rich resource of information, sample presentations, FAQs and fact sheets and step-by-step instructions for how to start a Complete Streets movement in your own community. Visit completestreets.org to get started today!
Start a time bank in your community Everyone is important, everyone has something to give and we all need each other. That is the guiding force behind a “time bank.” Simply put, a time bank – or service exchange – is a system where units of time act as currency. When you spend “time” helping another person in your community, you earn “time” that you can spend receiving a service from someone else. Each “dollar” represents one hour of time providing a service to another person in your community. Time banks not only provide much-needed services to community residents, but they also help people gain confidence, have social interaction, and enhance their own skills by providing help to others. And, everyone has a skill that others can use. Who would have thought that the elderly woman down the street could make such beautiful cookies for your son’s birthday? Could you have guessed that young man who uses a wheelchair would provide such a helpful dogwalking service? Or, that the family down the street would help you rake your fall leaves?
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There are countless services that those participating in a time bank can offer and use: • • • • • • •
Child care Home repair Tutoring Respite care Odd jobs Driving instruction Office support
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Deliveries
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Legal assistance The possibilities are endless! A national website, timebanks.org, is a great first stop if you
are interested in finding out if your community has a time bank or, if it doesn’t, how to start one. Starting a time bank can be as easy as: 1) Gathering a group of people who are interested in participating and identify and track their skills and talents; 2) Determine a way for tracking time banked and time used for everyone in your group; 3) Create a way for everyone in your time bank to access the list of resources/skills being offered; 4) Appoint someone to manage the time bank. Most time banks use computer software to track banked time; however, you can also track time on a computer using charts created in word processing software – it’s up to you. Timebanks.org allows you to set up an account and use their computer software for a nominal annual fee, which is tiered depending on the number of participants in your time bank. Work has to be redefined to represent whatever it takes to build strong families, revitalize neighborhoods, advocate and make communities livable and sustainable. With more than 300 time banks across the world and in more than 36 countries, people are forging strong community connections while receiving and giving of their skills and talents – regardless of those are. To learn more about time banks, visit timebanks.org.