written by Sherry Preston, Adult Engagement Librarian

My stepdad Bill had a stroke in 2012 that left him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. My mother, who was in her 70s, was his sole caregiver. She lifted a 180 pound man out of bed and hoisted him and his wheelchair into the van for six years. I would not have wanted to arm wrestle her during this time in her life, but it taught me a lot about what accessibility is, whether it’s parking, entering a building, or using a public restroom. I also learned that sometimes things look accessible when they really aren’t, and that some schools and medical offices aren’t as accessible as they should be.

Parking places with blue paint are supposed to indicate accessibility. They are often located near the entrance of a building to shorten the trip for someone with mobility difficulties. The number of accessible parking places is based on the size of the parking lot. Sometimes accessible parking is difficult to locate. When accessible parking is away from the regular parking lot, often staff and others who don’t have state-issued parking permits will use this parking. Most street parking spaces are difficult to use with a passenger in a wheelchair. Angle parking is often narrow, and curb cuts are on the corner rather than by the passenger door.  Disabled passengers often have a difficult time stepping between the vehicle and their wheelchair while navigating a curb in a street parking stall.

Entering a building while using a wheelchair can also be difficult. Without a button to push to open a door, someone in a wheelchair may find themselves holding the door with one hand while simultaneously trying to keep from rolling backwards towards the parking lot with the other. Air locks can be confounding. There are a number of businesses in town with airlocks that are both narrow and short. There were times when Mom would get the wheelchair in the air lock, but would not be able to reach the second door over Bill, so the person at the front desk would have to let them into the office.

Ramps might look accessible, but if the ramp is too steep for anyone to wheel themselves up, it’s not accessible. One of our older patrons at the library comes in by himself. He uses the handrail to pull himself up the ramp, hand over hand, to get into the library.

Stairs are the curse of all public buildings built before the 1980s. Chair lifts and elevators are a solution, but ask any church around if they have problems with their elevators, they will all say they often break down and they are expensive to fix. The library’s lift is working today, but it’s been down far more often than not in the past five years. This means caregivers who can’t use the stairs can’t take their children to our new children’s library. It also prevents a young blind patron from using it because he is uncomfortable using stairs. When our lift is out-of-order, it also leaves our community room unavailable to the public. This is why the library has been holding some functions in the Gering City Council Chambers.

Using the restroom was another problem for mom and Bill. Often times women would be uncomfortable when mom came out of the accessible stall with *gasp* a man in a wheelchair. The alternative was going into the men’s room with him, which would have been more uncomfortable for everybody. As uncomfortable as it was for mom to take Bill to the restroom, it must be awkward for a man to take his wife. Family bathrooms are a great idea; a man can take his wife in a wheelchair or a mother can take her young son there if she’s uncomfortable sending him to the men’s room by himself. Family bathrooms work well, unless they are kept locked during events. A locked accessible restroom isn’t accessible to those who need to use it.

Every one of these examples occur in either Scottsbluff or Gering, and probably in most other communities too. If you haven’t had personal experience with something like this, you likely won’t realize how inconvenient it is, especially for older folks, who are the most often disabled. Consider how someone by themselves in a wheelchair would have to enter where you work.

According to the 2020 census, about 10% of our county residents under age 65 have a disability. Sometimes people have a temporary disability, like breaking a hip and being in a wheelchair while it heals, others are disabled for life. Chances are, either you will be disabled at some point in your life, or you will be taking care of someone who is disabled. If you are not disabled, you might be lucky enough to grow to an age where you are uncertain on stairs. Will you want to be able to attend school or community functions? Will you want to be able to use public buildings by yourself?

The Americans with Disabilities Act signed by George H.W. Bush requires public buildings to provide access to everyone. Cities are committed to updating buildings and facilities to meet current standards. Because of this, towns now have ramps, elevators, curb cuts and many other features that give people with disabilities the opportunity to move around town and attend public events that they would not have been able to in the 1970s. New facilities are designed with access in mind, but it will take time and money to update existing buildings to ensure access for everyone. The City of Gering is currently focusing on how to provide reliable access to both levels of the library.