You have a SN Ministry but are you accessible?

When the church decides that it's going to take on the role of having a Special Needs Ministry, generally there are good feelings all around. You have people excited about the ministry opportunities, volunteers ready to go, and families ready to participate. Once you get all the obvious working parts in place, you'll find that there is one area that must be addressed but is going to be the hardest bridge you'll cross...accessibility.

You might be thinking, but all buildings are now required to meet certain standards because of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Yes you are right but just because they are standards doesn't mean they're what makes a building accessible. Let me give you some examples.

1. Parking: If you're like most churches, when the word parking is mentioned, people release a nervous giggle. Either churches don't have enough parking or their parking is too far away. The world is full of people who will spend 30 minutes driving through the parking lot at WalMart just to find that one spot that is "close". Never mind they could have parked, walked into the store, done their shopping, and been back in their car in that amount of time. Church attendees have the same mentality when arriving for services. They want ample parking and are going to take the closest spot they can find, regardless of the needs of others. Do you have handicapped parking spaces? You must if you're meeting ADA requirements but who parks in those spaces? Since handicapped parking tags are given out after most surgeries anymore, the people who truly need the spots are not often able to find them vacant. Do you have van accessible handicapped parking? If so, are vans with lifts parking there or are sedans and SUVs using those spots as they would any other handicapped spot? In our church we have a lot of handicapped parking but found that we needed to also add "Special Needs Ministry Parking" so that our families could find places to park near the building. A family with an autistic child might not have a handicapped parking sticker but they need close parking when they're walking with a "runner" through a crowded parking area. Having them walk 1/4 mile through a crowded lot is as dangerous as anything.

2. Doors: There is not a code in the ADA regulations that requires there to be automatic door openers on any doors (exterior or interior). If you go by minimum code, you'll probably not see any in your church. Think, however, about the mom pushing her son in a wheelchair. She approaches the door, purse & bags in hand, tries to open the door with one hand while pushing her son's chair through with the other hand. She'll use her foot or hip to help prop the door while she attempts to line up the chair and get it over the threshold. By the time she finally gets in the door, her bags are slipping down her arm, her hair is in her face, and she's worked up quite the sweat. Picture the same scenario as she's walking into the bathroom. While all bathrooms must have a disability accessible stall, they do not have to have the automatic door openers.

3. Elevators: You know that it is code to have elevators in buildings with more than one story but think about the size and the availability. Are your elevators capable of holding a large wheelchair and an assistant? Can you turn a wheelchair around in the elevator? Are the elevators in close proximity to the programming areas most used?

Now that you have an idea about accessibility and you have these avenues in place, think about if they're working? To let you in on my world....

Parking: We have handicapped parking but it's generally full well before the first service (which starts at 9:00am) because our older population come for their Adult Fellowship at 8am. While our SN Parking helps, it does not allow for the space needed for our wheelchair lift vans.

Doors: We have one main entrance door with an automatic opener and one set of bathrooms with automatic openers. The main entrance door is not technically our "main entrance" any longer (though it is closest to the SN Adult Fellowship classroom) and it does not work 75% of the time. The bathrooms with automatic openers are located in the Elementary Children's Programming area and are not easily accessible during Sunday Morning Services. The new space, near our new Worship Center, does not have any automatic doors and the doors are much heavier.

Elevators: We have three main buildings all connected by hallways. In each of the buildings we have one pair of elevators. At one point, there was one elevator (located in our oldest building furthest from the SN Suite and Worship Center) working....the other 5 were not. There are no ramps inside the building so if no elevators work, there is no way to get to the 2nd level from the 1st.

I say all this to help you as you plan, lead, or think about developing a Special Needs Ministry in your church. You can have the best ministry around but if you're not accessible, you're of no good to the people you're trying to serve.