Aging Well Inc. of Woonsocket, a nonprofit center serving older adults and people with disabilities, offers programs focused on mind-body wellness, social connection and lifelong learning, all designed to include people with mobility challenges, cognitive impairments and other disabilities.
It will use its grant to support the creation of El Jardín, an indoor green room designed for accessibility and sensory engagement, with a focus on people with disabilities and those often excluded from traditional group programs. Its hydroponic systems are designed without soil and at an accessible height, making them easy to use from a wheelchair or while seated.
Activities will include planting and harvesting herbs and vegetables, learning about nutrition, tasting fresh foods, and spending time in a calming, beautiful environment. The space was designed to support individuals with chronic pain, mobility challenges, cognitive decline or mental health conditions.
The Gamm Theatre in Warwick presents a five-show subscription season, a special series production, educational programming and community events that collectively reach over 25,000 youth and adults annually.
With its grant funds, The Gamm plans to upgrade its assistive listening device (ALD) system to enhance accessibility for patrons with hearing loss. Its current system, last updated in 2018, includes only seven aging receivers, which is insufficient to meet growing audience demand. The new ALD system will improve sound quality and significantly increase the number of available receivers, ensuring more patrons can fully enjoy and engage with performances. This initiative builds on The Gamm’s recent efforts to improve accessibility, including the addition of American Sign Language interpretation.
PechaKucha Night Providence creates events where members gather for free, public storytelling events. Held monthly at rotating venues across Providence, each event invites six to eight people from all walks of life to share personal stories, ideas or experiences using a 20-slide, timed visual format. These evenings regularly draw upwards of 250 attendees per event and foster informal social connection.
The organization will use the grant to provide will live captioning and translation through Ava, an ADA- and HIPAA-compliant accessibility platform to meet the requests of those with hearing impairments and those seeking real-time translation. With Ava, the sound system can be connected to a laptop and instantly generate a secure QR code offering real-time captioning and subtitles in over 50 languages that attendees can access on their own devices.
Save The Bay is dedicated to protecting and improving Narragansett Bay to ensure it is fishable, swimmable and accessible to all. Its Providence Bay Center functions as both a living classroom and a public access point and includes classrooms, community meeting rooms, a public gallery and event space. An adjacent boathouse and dock further support hands-on learning and access to the water.
With its grant funds, Save The Bay plans to install automatic ADA commercial door openers at the Bay Center to create easier access for all community members. The building hosts more than 9,500 guests annually for education programs, camps, internships and public and private events. An additional 500 people, including staff, volunteers and community members, visit the Bay Center regularly.
Southside Community Land Trust in Providence offers a wide range of social, recreational and cultural activities centered on community gardening and sustainable agriculture. Nearly 500 individuals and families use the garden plots to grow their own food, learn about organic practices and connect with others.
SCLT will use grant funds to enhance accessibility at its Charles Street and Garfield community gardens by installing raised beds, including a wheelchair-accessible design and a solid-bottom elevated bed for those who use walkers or have difficulty bending. Each garden will also receive adaptive tools for gardeners with limited grip strength, along with wheelchair-friendly pathways.
These infrastructure improvements will be supported by inclusive programming for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Community members with disabilities helped identify these needs and will be involved in the design process to ensure the solutions are effective.