Accessibility Outing Tool

So many times, I’d wished there would have been a tool to let me know whether an establishment wasn’t accessible before I wasted my time to venture there.

It’s very disappointing to go somewhere only to find out I can’t get in because it isn’t accessible. It also makes me angry when someone says, “I’m so sorry our establishment isn’t accessible”. Dude, you’ve been knowing this, you just decided to do nothing about it. Again, I’m just keeping it real.

Although my accessibility needs are physical, there’re other people with disabilities that require other accessibilities and accommodations. This is just to say, not all people with disabilities need the same thing. If you meet one person with a disability, you’ve met one person with a disability. We are not all the same. It’s just that simple.

As the world continues to move towards full inclusion, especially in the digital era, Yelp has been at the forefront.  They get it and have created features so that a person with disabilities will know if a business is accessible or not.

Yelp unveils new accessibility features to help people with disabilities connect with local businesses | Yelp – Official Blog

How cool is this?

No longer will your girl have to worry about if a place is accessible in the community or while I am on vacation.  I can now go to Yelp and check it out beforehand.

Like most, my life is simple. Often, I must pay visits to places to take care of my business. It’s really disheartening when I go into a place where I must sign something, and the front desk is too hard for me to reach. It’s also kind of embarrassing. Especially when people make a fuss out of it. As if the situation isn’t already awkward. The fuss just makes it even worse and brings unwanted attention.

Other times, I like going out with my friends, family or my favorite guy. Question, when at a restaurant do you just sit at the bar? Nine times out of ten, sitting at the bar isn’t an option for me because of its height. There’re restaurants that have bars that have a lower portion for people to sit, but who would know, unless someone told you?

With the assistance of these new Yelp features hopefully some of these awkward situations will cease because I’ll be able to look up a business’s accessibility before I go there.

As the world turns, new businesses will arise. I’m hopeful that many will be built on the principles of serving all people. Hopefully, the Yelp accessibility features will be overflowing with places where people with disabilities can go with ease.

Only time will tell.

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