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Acquiring a ramp for a networking event...

matthewjhomer

Hi everyone!

I wondered if you could point me in the right direction.

A colleague of mine has arranged a networking event at a venue in Hove on the 2nd of August. While the venue has a few plus points with regards to access, the area that has been booked has two steps to get to it.

I am going to suggest that the venue swaps this booking with another meeting which is located on the lower floor. If this cannot be done, does anyone know the best way to borrow a ramp for the evening?

One of the delegates, who is a good friend of mine, is a wheelchair user and I want her to enjoy the evening just as much as anyone else.

I am so upset about this and will aim to get involved in organising these networking events to avoid this happening in the future.

All the best!

Matt.

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Comments

atlas46

Hi

Suggest you contact the venue, to see how they propose to allow a wheel chair user access.

I am also tagging @Jean_Scopefor her expert advice.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @matthewjhomer
I hope you are able to sort this! The venue should have a disabled access policy or even a ramp themselves. Please do let us know how you get on!

matthewjhomer

Thanks Atlas and Chloe!

I've suggested to the venue that they swap the film networking meet-up with another event which is taking place on the ground floor. That's of course if there are no delegates at that event who are wheelchair users.

Failing that, I have managed to source a ramp from a local advocacy group called Speak Out.

While I won't be able to attend the event myself, I am going to bring the ramp to the venue the day before which will hopefully resolve the situation.

I will definitely let you know how this works out. Another friend of mine who is a Scope employee has been very helpful as well

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @matthewjhomer I am so glad there is progress in this, it is very kind of you to source the ramp and bring it to the event- I hope it all goes smoothly!

matthewjhomer

Thanks Chloe, and apologies for my delay in replying.

Absolutely, I managed to get the ramp easily enough from Speak Out in Brighton, although I did have to get a cab to the venue as it was so heavy.
I think they were a bit suspicious at first, but the venue quickly got on board when I turned up with the ramp and explained why I needed it.
I haven't had the chance to catch up with my friend yet but I have the feeling that she coudn't make it in the end.

Having said that, I would rather that was the case then her turn up only to find that she couldn't get into the venue. Hopefully my colleague will choose more accessible places to host the networking events in the future

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @matthewjhomer, I am so happy that the event appeared to be a success, like you said, hopefully they will choose an accessible room to begin with next time

newborn

Sometimes it is hard to tell if anybody has ever heard of the disability discrimination act?

All services must make reasonable adjustment to meet the needs of service users. Venues should, must, not fail to make it their task. Nobody apart from the venue staff should ever need to carry ramps around.

matthewjhomer

Thanks everyone. I definitely agree with your post newborn, especially as they're not the lightest of objects to move about. I think it was just the tight deadline which made me feel like I needed to take the initiative.
I think the one silver lining in this situation was that the venue did ask me how much ramps cost. Sounds like it is a lesson learned