One of the best things about Inner Trek is how well access feedback has been received and the spirit of invitation, inspiration, education and collaboration have emerged as driving forces behind disability issues that come up. I am excited to be a part of a teaching venture at Inner Trek and helping to develop practical ideas for physical access as well as developing
procedural protocols for ongoing and continuing education.
One of the first questions to ponder is if Measure 109 and the Service Center model is in fact
beholden to the ADA because of the federal legal status of Psilocybin currently being
Schedule1. It probably is similar to churches in that there is some exemption and or there are
state measures that may fill the gap, but in fact Federal laws do not apply so the ADA would be hard to uphold if challenged. For service centers the question is really how best to serve
disabled clients because it is the ethical thing to do, not necessarily the legal requirement.
The simple answer to how to best serve the disabled is through inclusive content and thoughtful physical space to best fit an individual. Mobility, Blind or low vision, and hearing impaired or Deaf people all need accommodation but in different ways.
Setting up a service center with attention to the physical environment and all different access
needs is ideal but finding accommodations on as needed basis makes more sense for most
service centers in Oregon. It’s fairly simple to set a couch up to accommodate a transfer for a
wheelchair user but definitely more challenging to lead a journey for someone who uses sign
language yet still possible. Setting up verbal and written protocols will set the standard operating procedure for ADA requests.
There is a section on the intake forms that talks about accommodations. It talks about things like toileting while having a attendant help with personal care, and using adaptive devices for mobility like canes and walkers. It does not address some of the more complicated things like having signage for people that are low vision, having interpretive services for people that are deaf, and then addressing some of the emergency situations like becoming ill and needing assistance to clean up.
Safety and emergency situations for disabled clients and facilitators at service centers: a few
scenarios. How will centers address an emergency situation or evacuation for a disabled client or facilitator? Can they provide safe passage out of the service center for everyone? This requires way finding exits for people that have mobility impairments, preferably no stairs. It means braille for people that are low vision or blind and or raised surfaces for canes. It might require signage for hard of hearing and other disabilities.
Questions like how and when to prioritize moving a client without moving a mobility device if
they are out of the wheelchair and or if stairs are involved? Probably only in the case of a fire.
Another important thing is when to talk about and get consent around these practices before they arise as a part of the accommodations contract? Sooner than later when doing an intake preferably as part of the health screening as these are health conditions.
And a last and very important question: How to get a disabled client who is in-state back into a wheelchair and to find an exit out of a service center then what to do? We must locate or find an alternative accessible space to finish the journey. The need for it to be close enough to wheel to is a challenge as well as if the client can physically get to the space without assistance. A lot to consider.
A real concern is Disabled facilitator safety, as in how to deal with a client in state that is
aggressive who wants to leave or is threatening? This would begin in screening for someone in a wheelchair to make a solid verbal written contract that there is no violence to self others or the space there’s no leaving in state or driving, But sometimes contracts fail.
It might be useful to have an able body facilitator nearby or available and physically be able to move a wheelchair to block an exit, perhaps have a safety button in the journey room that would alert the co facilitator and then know the boundaries with yourself as to what level of aggression and threatening behavior that a disabled person could handle. Perhaps additional training and de-escalation techniques and using a voice or more directive type protective measures would be beneficial.
There are more questions than answers but this is a great opportunity to open up brainstorming and discussion about access for the disabled in Measure 109.
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