Improvements to MEND part 1: better accessibility for shoppers
In the spring of 2024, Upper Valley MEND conducted a survey with our staff, board members and volunteers—valued members of our team who are most familiar with our workplace culture, as well as our programs and services. As an organization engaged in meaningful and impactful work with diverse populations, our intention was to better understand how we can continue to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and can achieve their full potential. We have put together a series of articles to cover some of the findings of that survey and the changes they have brought about in our organization as a result.
In this article, we are covering increased accessibility.
Accessibility
One of the takeaways from this survey was a request to make our facilities more physically accessible for all clients. This resulted in an ADA assessment in May 2024, performed by our insurance company. The assessment led to the following changes:
At Das Thrift, we changed the door and spacing between the rows and clothing to make it more accessible for wheelchair users.
At the Community Cupboard food pantry, we switched from knobs to handles on the doors and extended our entry ramp to allow easier access for all mobility needs.
The assessor declined to do an assessment of the administrative offices—very simply put, they are not at all accessible to people with most mobility issues. Anyone who wants to visit the office has to climb a flight of 16 narrow stairs which makes it completely inaccessible to anyone in a wheelchair.
For now, MEND has created a workaround to make sure clients have access to us. There is a small office in the back of the Community Cupboard that gives greater access to people who can’t navigate the stairs at our administrative offices. However, even that is not a perfect solution—clients must take a small step down when entering the room. Clients can also meet in the downstairs portion of our administrative offices, which is accessible by wheelchair. However, using this space would require permission from the Wenatchee River Institute, who also depends on this meeting area.
The lack of accessibility underscores the need Upper Valley MEND has for a new headquarters—one that allows all clients, regardless of mobility issues, to access all our services easily, and with dignity.
MEND has been saving money since 2016 toward building or obtaining a new headquarters that can house all our programs under one roof. Recently, there has been some movement in that direction, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU established by the City of Leavenworth gives MEND the first right of refusal to buy the piece of property that currently houses the Community Cupboard if they move their public works department to a parcel owned by Chelan County PUD.
In the meantime, MEND staff do what they can to accommodate client needs with the resources we have available. This includes meeting clients at other locations as needed, or providing help via phone instead of in-person if getting to our locations is too difficult.