Raising Special Kids

Disability Empowerment Center of Arizona Grand Opening

February 23, 2009 By Administrator

Disability Empowerment Center Grand Opening

Last Thursday I had the privilege of attending the grand opening celebration of the Disability Empowerment Center of Arizona. Joining me was my brother, David Crook, who took many photos of the event. The center, a project of Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), is a universally designed, accessible, and transit-oriented nonprofit resource for Arizona’s disability community.

Perhaps this is best illustrated by the photo below, which shows people using wheelchairs and scooters breaking through the walls…portraying successful steps taken to advocate for the disability community…including legislation.

The entire evening was filled with grace and beauty, as people came together to celebrate the opening first portion of the center. Currently DEC offers fully accessible administrative office space, meeting rooms, event space, a cafeteria and kitcen, computer lab, and a resource center.

“The DEC will serve as a national model for accessible design, according to Phil Pangrazio, executive directory of Abil. “Future plans for the center also include a universally accessible sports and fitness center for persons with disabilities that is being funded through the City of Phoenix 2006 Bond program and private foundations that include: The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, the David Reese Family Foundation, Thunderbirds Charities, the Rhett Butler Family Foundation and others that are currently being pursued. Completion of the sports & fitness center is planned for the summer of 2009.”

The 62,000-square-foot facility houses (in addition to ABIL),

Photos of the grand opening celebration.

Disability Empowerment Center Grand Opening

February 22, 2009 By Administrator

Thursday, February 19, 2009, Arizona Bridge to Independent Living’s Disability Empowerment Center of Arizona held its grand opening. I was privileged to attend. I’ll blog more about it later, but wanted to share some of the photos my brother, David Crook, took.

Click in the boxes themselves to go to the site that shows all the pictures and allows you to see them in better resolution.

Disability Empowerment Center of Arizona

January 31, 2009 By Administrator

Yesterday I attended a board meeting for the Arizona Center for Disability Law, which recently moved into the brand new Disabililty Empowerment Center. (Thanks to the Arizona Bridge for Independent Living for data on the center and the pictures on its site.)

This amazing 62,000 square-foot facility is located at 5025 E Washington Street in Phoenix, and is truly designed to serve the disabled. Here are a few pictures from my visit:

All of the restroom cubicles offer disabled access. The toilets and sinks are automatic. All main doors have the ability to be opened automatically. The four-level parking garage is wonderful, and right now not very full, and has ample ADA parking.

Two bridges conect the parking garage to the second level of the office building. This ensures ease of access and evacuation in case of emergency.

The DEC will house not only the Arizona Center for Disability Law, but Raising Special Kids, the Arizona Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Joni & Friends, the Statewide Independent Living Council, Arizona Autism United, the Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association, Valley Center of the Deaf, and PRN Medical.

This is an energy efficient, green facility that is 99% environmentally friendly. Our board meeting was held in one half of the beautiful Nina Mason Pulliam Conference Center. Oh my, the sound system is incredble. While we had board members from Flagstaff and Tucson, we had teleconferencing going on with Tucson and Yuma.

We had two guest speakers: Steven G. Biddle, of Littler Mendelson, and Barbara Brent, of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Biddle presented training on Collective Bargaining Agreement, and Brent discussed the State of DDD.