Get involved with a great cause.
The Disability Federation of Ireland is attempting to raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities with a national ‘Make Way Day’ this week.
To help raise awareness, Make Way Day stickers will be placed on obstacles around the country as a friendly reminder that cars or vans pulled up on footpaths can often mean the end of the road for a person in a wheelchair.
The purpose of the day is to discourage thoughtlessness in public spaces, which stop people with disabilities from getting around.
Saoirse Smyth explains: “My route home from work takes me by a few takeaways. Drivers like to pull right up on the footpaths outside, especially on rainy days. This blocks my way. Why can’t people just use their legs!?”
People with disabilities and supporters of the campaign are encouraged to get out on Wednesday, 26 September and ‘sticker’ the common obstacles they find.
The goal is to encourage people to think twice about the needs of people with disabilities.
Annamarie Foley will be out making her point on Make Way Day in Tralee, and she explained the long-term impact of accessibility problems, saying: “If you come across enough obstacles like these you eventually don’t want to go out at all, and that leads to social isolation.”
If you want to get involved, there are 15 local authorities around Ireland taking part, which you can see a full list of here:
Cork City Council,
Cork County Council,
Dublin City Council,
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council,
Fingal County Council,
Galway City Council,
Kildare County Council,
Kilkenny County Council,
Limerick City and County Council,
Louth County Council,
Meath County Council,
Offaly County Council,
South Dublin County Council,
Wexford County Council,
Wicklow County Council.
The local authorities involved may not be near you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved. You can still take part by taking pictures of everyday obstacles that you encounter, posting them to social media and using the hashtag #makewayday, as well as the hashtag #makewayYOURCOUNTYNAME.
If you’re interested in offering a helping hand you can visit the Make Way Day official website for more information.
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