Use this quick survey to review the facilities within your hub and factors affect access to your hub.

Public transport, childcare options signage and physical layout are all considered.

Use the results from your survey to

Mobility Accessibility

Use this guide to help inform your planning and decisions

• Space Dimensions – search 4.13, 4.14, 4.3, 4.5
• Ramp Dimensions – search 4.8

“Achievable Barrier Removal Checklist for Existing Facilities” Section

• Elevator – search 4.1.3(5), 4.3
• Podiums – search 4.2, 4.32, 7.2

Visual Accessibility

Signs

ADA Accessibility signs & labels site to purchase replacements

Guide of your space

Some workarounds:

• Get a member of the community/operations team to give the person a full tour of the space
• Create a clear short onboarding video with audio and subtitles which gives a tour of your hub (you can put this on your website too!)
• Purchase a 3D printed a map of your hubs space

Visual Accessibility

• Provided they can lip read – Get a member of the community/operations team to give the person a full tour of the space
• Create a short subtitled onboarding video that gives a virtual tour of your hub (you can put this on your website too!)
• Provide them with a map of the space

Perceptual Impairments

• Quiet Space: Take a look at this article on creating quiet spaces for visitors/community members who are on the spectrum (The room could also double up as a meditation space)
• Lighting and Air Conditioning Control: People with sensory conditions make be perceive stimuli in an under-sensitive or overly sensitive way. Having technology that allows the facilities team to modify levels of brightness, sound, the temperature can help make your space more comfortable for everyone.

Additional Spaces

If your facility is small you might not have the capacity to allocate a room to this full time. Instead, you can block off a regular time slot in a specific room and designate it to prayer.

A Mother’s Room

Women who are breastfeeding need a safe, quiet, clean and private space to pump breastmilk several times a day.

This should be as comfortable as possible, not in the restroom. Some key features of this room should be
– A locking door
– Microwave
– Refrigerator
– Drinking water
– A comfortable seat
– An outlet
– If possible, place near a source of both hot and cold water for washing hands, pump attachments and milk collection containers.

A Prayer Room

A space like this gives people a safe space to practice their religion and can act as a breakout space for non-religious people to rejuvenate.

Use the link below to think about whether your hub might have the capacity to create a space a multi-faith room

Gender Neutral Bathroom

While many restrooms traditionally have been male or female, providing gender-inclusive restrooms can help create a safe and supportive environment in your hub.

Not only does it allow transgender and gender non-binary people to safely use the restrooms, but it also allows people with disabilities to have a caretaker of a different gender to assist them in restrooms. It takes a little getting used to at first, but many will find it a huge relief.

The Journey To Your Hub

• Public Transport: If there isn’t accessible public transport to your hub, consider whether your hub can subsidise their travel costs.
• Parking and Drop Off Areas – 4.6
• Clear pathways –  4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7
• Call for Assistance: If you don’t have Disabled Access Buttons at your doors then people with limited mobility will have no way to enter if they are on their own. Consider your own space and what your reception area can do to facilitate a seamless entry into your hub. Call for Assistance buttons should also be at every door within your space that can’t be opened automatically.

What to cover in this meeting

1. Discuss the accessible facilities you have available in your space and the gaps you have identified.

2. Work with them to prioritise your next steps based on your communities needs (e.g. if you have a community member who is in a wheelchair, you’ll need to prioritise wheelchair accessibility)

3. Clarify what accommodations the community team can take in instances where there are gaps (These should be for short and long term planning)

4. Discuss longer-term goals to improve the accessibility of the space.

5. Discuss which channels you’ll use to let people know about your accessibility and the accommodations that can be made (see Signalling below)

Now that you’ve established what accessible facilities you have in your space, and how your hub can accommodate for some facilities you don’t have, the next step is to determine where and how you are communicating those facilities/services externally.

Messaging

Whether you are a fully accessible space or partially accessible, there are certain touch-points where you can highlight this message to draw attention to the fact that people

Where are these touch-points?

• At the entrance of your hub
• On your website
• On event invitations/registrations
• At reception

What should you write?

At reception

“Our space is accessible for all wheelchair users. We also have some capacity to support those with visual and hearing impairments. Feel free to ask our reception team more about this!”

At the entrance of the hubs, on the website, on invitations/registration pages.

“Our space is fully accessible for all wheelchair users. We also have some capacity to support those with visual and hearing impairments. If you’d like to discuss how we can make your time in our hub as enjoyable as possible, reach out to our reception team at reception@dogpatchlabs.com or drop into us on the ground floor entrance.”

Signage

• Directional signage inside the space
• Sign on/beside the door of the room

A supplier diversity program can be a very impactful way to expand your diversity goals beyond your physical space.

Use this short guide to review the criteria you use to measure your suppliers and start the conversation about D&I.