"Overcoming Barriers"

Local View from 4'2, Lake County Press, February 6, 2026

“Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Let’s be real, raw and vulnerable. This past week I lost my composure in a community leadership space. My mind, heart, and spirit had just finally had enough. So in this safe space of a Zoom meeting with leaders I have worked with for years and some for only months, I ugly cried in response to the topic of accessible events.

Leading up to this conversation I had a horrible hotel lodging experience at our state robotics competition. The Reader’s Digest version, meaning the short version of the story for our younger generation readers, is that five days before we left for state the hotel messaged and said their pool and spa were broken and would not be fixed in time for our stay. Anyone who works with teenagers knows they need a space to get out their extra energy so we quickly pivoted to a new hotel.

I did all the right things. I looked online and I called the manager to discuss their wheelchair accessible accommodations. When I arrived, all of the accessible parking spots only had one foot wide access aisles which under current code need to be at least 8 feet wide for accessible vans with ramps. My hotel room had a roll-in shower but they provided no bench. This was fine as I always travel with my own, but the shower was barely wide enough for my bench and my knees. The wall of the shower was less than 6 inches away from the toilet so there was no way I could use it. So I looked for the public restroom in the lobby- there was none. I went into the pool bathroom and this shower was large and wonderfully accessible. But this toilet was too close to the shower wall and therefore there was nowhere in this hotel for me to use the restroom.

For about an hour and a half I sat in the hotel lobby with the help of two friends web searching and calling hotels in an eighty mile radius. It was Valentine's Day evening, President’s Day weekend, and State Robotics weekend plus so many more events. My last ditch solution was to find a hospital waiting room to sleep in, seriously. Thankfully there was one room available at a hotel twenty miles away from my team but no room for my helper and family to stay. I had to coordinate a local friend to be my morning helper.

The next day, once I got in coach mode at competition , I thought, “Wow, we have gone through all of the adversity already so today will be great!” Enter an older volunteer. His big smile and sparkling eyes were a welcomed sight after the frazzled morning. Then he opened his mouth, “Now, just to tell ya young lady, we have a speed limit here today!” Good thing my parents raised me to respect my elders, but seriously facing this ableism after all I had just endured about broke me. And it wasn't just once that this person used insensitive words but three times that day.

So I took time and recuperated from this weekend of inaccessibility and ignorance. I had to take a week off because of the blizzard which was welcomed by me because sometimes the only rest I get is when it is imposed upon me. But the nuisance snow came several days later just before a big project was being revealed. The lack of others being allies and making things accessible by removing snow and ice kept me home and not fulfilling my professional and accessibility responsibilities. I simply had no more energy to plan four steps ahead and educate others. 

So in that Zoom room talking about upcoming local events my dam of emotions broke free. Other leaders got to see the toll of the day-in day-out “overcoming barriers” that others know nothing about.

It is 2026. We must do better at promoting our spaces in picture and video formats for disabled folks to decide what is safe and works for them. Event planners and community leaders must do better at not just snow removal but at all aspects of accessibility and safety for all participants. We ALL must do better together.