DisAbilities advocates in Somerville, MA hosted individual and group interviews in 2007 to learn more about how community members perceive the usability of local government services. An Evaluation Survey was also distributed and subsequently collected. 103 respondents (approx. 1% of city population) reported on the following topics:
Street access, communication skills and attitudes of city staff, public facilities barriers, programmatic barriers (included schools, libraries, public health, public safety, hospitals, mental health service providers, and municipal buildings, programs, services, activities).
This D.A.R.E. 2007 ("DisAbilities Access Report and Evaluation 2007) Project was funded, in part, by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administered by this Entitlement Community's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. Other funds were donated by community disAbilities Rights advocactes. Over 400 citizen volunteer hours were donated towards outreach and collaboration efforts, dissemination of surveys, individual and group interviews and discussions, collection of information, analyzing responses, writing reports, and follow-up interviews.

A Final Report was delivered to city planners, who will use this information in documentation and planning efforts specific to HUD_funded, City-run programs.

An edited version of this Final Report is available here: http://www.slideshare.net/eilily/somerville-ma-access-report-fy07/

This report may be copied in whole, but not in part, for purposes of disAbilities rights advocacy only. ©2007, 2008 somdisAbilitiescomm