Accessibility has long been a core value at Crossroads Fund. A commitment to accessibility fits with our broad commitment to diversity, inclusion and community leadership, not to mention that members of our Board of Directors, grantee organizations, donantes, volunteers and staff have disabilities at various moments in our history. Desafortunadamente, we’re living in a city and world where inaccessibility is the norm. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act has had a huge impact on buildings and infrastructure, most homes and offices in Chicago require walking up stairs. Making our office, events and meetings accessible has definitely been a process for us. Over our 30 year history, we have held many board and committee meetings in borrowed and rented spaces because our office is up a flight and a half of stairs. We asked our landlord to install an elevator in our building, working with him to see the value of this upgrade – and found the tax credits which helped make it happen. We ask all of our applicants if their offices and meeting spaces are accessible, and help them think through options like holding meetings at the public library. We include language about accessibility needs in our event invitations, and we hire interpreters when necessary. And last year we adopted an organizational policy that all public events sponsored or co-sponsored by Crossroads Fund have to be in a wheelchair accessible space. And we recognize that all of this still means that we are dealing with gaps in folks capacity to access us and our work.We’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. We have taken a venues’ word that their space was accessible without checking first, only to discover that while the entrance was accessible the bathrooms weren’t. We’ve hired a sign interpreter for the program portion of our annual benefit without insuring that she would be available to interpret for the rest of the evening. We had an open bar with many beverage options, but no straws for folks who can’t lift a cup or a beer bottle. But every year we’re a little better at making sure all of our spaces are welcoming to everyone who wants to participate. Accessibility is a challenge. It can close doors for us, in terms of venues we can use and events with which to partner. It can be costly, in both money and the time. But it also allows us to live out our values in our day to day work. Crossroads Fund is made possible by a truly diverse group of people. Having an accessibility policy signals that our doors are open to everyone, and that we value the contributions of all members of our community. Someone once said that being an ally is a process rather than an identity. Being an organization dedicated to accessibility is an everyday activity for us, and we continue to be in dialogue with our partners, concesionarios, allies and venues to talk about what that means and how we can do it better. Got suggestions on how we can do accessibility better? Questions on how you can? Let us know and we’ll do our best.
