Toowoomba disability advocate Josh Marshall is developing an app to help residents with disability navigate their local community.
The MyAccess app will provide a catalogue of venues that allows people with disability to make informed choices about businesses and services in the Queensland town. It will be launched in the Toowoomba area as a pilot and ultimately into regional areas, across the state and nationally.
Marshall, 38, helped many people transition into wheelchairs during his 20 years as a registered nurse. However, he was not prepared for life in a wheelchair when his youth diagnoses of MS finally caught up with him seven years ago.
“It wasn’t until I was in a wheelchair that I realised how inaccessible our world is,” he said.
“Over the past seven years I have seen and experienced first-hand the challenges and barriers for disabled people in our community and I am trying to break down those barriers.”
Users can search for venues in the categories of Eat (restaurants, cafes, bars), Play (cinemas, museums, parks) or Stay (hotels, motels, B&Bs) and filter using their disability requirements such as:
Mobility: accessible toilet, counter height, table service, step-free entry
Cognitive: easy read text, low sensory environment, inclusive attitudes; and
Sensory: screen reader technology, hearing loop/augmentation, luminance contrast.
Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki said the app will promote inclusivity and be a valuable resource for people living with a disability. “It will help empower people with disability to actively participate in our community,” he said.
Marshall has witnessed first-hand how attitudes towards him changed as his MS worsened and he progressed from walking unaided, with a cane, then crutches and a wheelchair.
“Accessibility is so much more than ramps and rails, it’s attitudes as well. People started to talk around me, asking others ‘what does he want’ and I would say, ‘he can talk too’.
“There are many restaurants and cafes where I can’t sit with my family and friends because my wheelchair doesn’t fit underneath the table. When I attend a venue and not included, I feel like I am not relevant in the community, shouldn’t be there, and should just stay home. It’s not a good feeling.”
He said many people with disability had more money thanks to NDIS but chose to stay home where they felt safe. “No-one wants to go out to eat and be worrying about whether they will be able to use the toilet.”
Marshall started his disability access consultancy business Inclusion Access Consultancy in 2018, that recently received deductible gift recipient (DGR) status to receive tax deductible donations. Marshall and the board of directors are currently raising funds for the app’s development.
Accessible businesses can visit the website and sign up for free. Donations can also be made via their website.
The Inclusion Access website can be accessed at www.inclusionaccess.com.au where some MyAccess app features are currently available.
Photo: Josh Marshall and MP David Janetzki