Accessibility at the Providence FFF
Forwarded from Rae, the chair of the New England Leather Alliance:
To Our Community:
For Fetish Fair Fleamarket™ #34, NELA will be striving for greater accessibility.
Getting to the hotel: It has been recommended to us that if using a scooter or wheelchair it is best to enter the mall through the Borders bookstore entrance and take the elevator to the second floor then go from there to the hotel.
If traveling to the Flea by train with a scooter, make sure that your scheduled train has a german car as this works best with a scooter’s turning radius.
Staying at the Westin: If you have not already done so, now would be a good time to give them a call about accessibility issues at the hotel. If you’ve forgotten to request a room with greater accessibility it’s not too late. These
rooms have roll in showers, and wider doorways. It may also be a good idea to give them a head’s up if you have a service animal. Especially if you have mobility issues, request that you stay in the west tower and if you need it ask for an early check-in and a late check-out. The hotel is much more likely to accommodate you now rather than when all their phones are ringing and there is a lobby full of folks all wanting attention. Service animals can be taken to the park for relief. We have requested that the concierge have extra plastic bags on hand.
Enjoying the Flea: We will have some Assistive Listening Devices borrowed from the RI Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to be synched with the microphone in each classroom. Please reserve a device by emailing nela.access@gmail.com.
If you would like to request an ASL interpreter, please email nela.access@gmail.com and we will make every effort to retain that assistance for you.
If you are an ASL interpreter and would like to volunteer some hours interpreting please let us know your availability by emailing nela.access@gmail.com. We realize that the charge for this service is a reasonable one and have built that cost into our budget.
We are also in need of volunteers to be on call at the registration desk to coordinate issues and answer questions for people with disabilities. Shifts of a minimum two hours Sat and Sunday (10AM – 4PM) are available with similar benefits as other volunteers. Assistance may include reading the schedule for a print-impaired attendee, giving “appropriate and detailed directions to a class”, arranging for an ASL interpreter for a class, or directing individuals to accessible bathrooms and other accessible facilities.
In order to make classes more accessible there will be designated seating for persons with disabilities in each classroom (as well as space for scooters and/or wheelchairs). If these seats are not required by persons with disabilities, the seats will be releasedshortly before the start of each class.
Our presenters have been asked to have handouts available to be printed before the event so that we can accommodate large print requests. Please make any request for a large print handout to nela.access@gmail.com. Please understand that some presenters may be reluctant to provide handouts before the event but may make them available upon request from a class attendee.
The Program Book will be available in advance of the Flea upon request to nela.access@gmail.com so that individuals with a print-impairment can access these materials for planning.
Our presenters have also been encouraged to verbally describe demonstrated activities and written/drawn presentation components wherever possible.
NELA is committed to improving the accessibility of the Fetish Fair Fleamarket™. We hope this is a good start upon which to build in the years ahead. Please email nela.access@gmail.com with questions or requests.
Thank you,
~Rae
NELA Board Chair