Austin's year-old Office of Civil Rights wants to hear from people with disabilities living and working in the city, an area news outlet recently reported.
Austin's Office of Civil Rights, formed with approval by city council last year following social and racial unrest in the city and across the nation, has been working since August to get feedback about the disabled community's top needs and to develop a quality-of-life plan. More online and in-person canvassing is scheduled later this month, The American-Stateman reported in its Thursday, Oct. 14 news story.
"We're hoping to get a lot of feedback from people sharing their experiences, telling us what they need, what has worked, what hasn't worked, what can the city do better or what's the city doing right," Austin Office of Civil Rights Director Carol Johnson said in the news story. "We want to make this process as accessible as possible so that we can hear from more people, and so that's why we did the online survey as well."
Johnson, who began working as Austin's first Civil Rights Officer this past February, is responsible for leading the city’s civil rights enforcement efforts, as well as directing the new office.
The survey continues about a month after the city released its People with Disabilities and Policing report. That report, which also was based on the feedback of Austinites with disabilities, found that the city's police department should make improvements in training and practices, particularly when interaction with experiencing mental health issues, crises, hearing loss or other disabilities.
In January, the city posted to its website an article about accessibility in Austin, a "guide to the best places to visit in Austin, with limited discrimination and without the uncertainty about barriers to access." The guide include events such as the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival and Austin's annual city-wide garage sale, in addition to general information about accessibility at area hotels, musical and performing arts, restaurants, the area's bars and other nightlife, and other attractions.
The Austin Office of Civil Rights survey has scheduled in-person sessions on Monday, Oct. 25, at the city's Permitting and Development Center at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, in Rooms 1401 and 1402. The in-person sessions that day are set for 10 to 11:30 a.m., 2 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Another in-person survey session is scheduled the following day at the offices of the nonprofit Arc of Texas at 8001 Centre Park Drive. Those in-person sessions are set for 10 to 11:30 a.m., 2 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m.
In-person survey sessions are to be limited to 10 people per session.
The office also has planned virtual survey sessions for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, and noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29.
Anyone who would like to register for in-person or virtual sessions may visit the Public Consulting Group's website here. Public Consulting Group is assisting the city with its survey.
Anyone who would like to take the online survey may do so here.