Changing Spaces: Part 2 – Creating Inclusive Environments

In this episode of Ohio DD Talks, we continue the conversation on accessibility and inclusion with Changing Spaces: Part 2. Host Shari Cooper is joined by experts and advocates to discuss the incredible progress made in the Changing Spaces movement, which is working to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Universal Changing Tables in public spaces across Ohio. Since our last discussion, significant strides have been made, with a growing number of these essential facilities being installed in key locations, improving accessibility and quality of life for individuals and families.

Shari reconnects with Jennifer Corcoran and Kim Kirkwood, Co-Leaders of Changing Spaces Ohio, who provide an update on the movement’s achievements, including partnerships with local governments and businesses. They are joined by Chase Watts from the Delaware County Board of D.D., Rita Price from the Franklin County Board of D.D., and Karen Brown from the Union County Board of D.D., who share insights on how county boards have contributed to the expansion of Universal Changing Tables throughout the state.

Listeners will hear about the challenges faced, the victories won, and the advocacy efforts that continue to drive this initiative forward. With dozens of Universal Changing Tables now installed in public buildings, airports, parks, and other locations, Ohio is setting a powerful example for accessibility nationwide.

Host:
Shari Cooper, Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council Ambassador

Guests:
Jennifer Corcoran, Co-Leader of Changing Spaces Ohio
Kim Kirkwood, Co-Leader of Changing Spaces Ohio
Chase Watts, Delaware County Board of D.D.
Rita Price, Franklin County Board of D.D.
Karen Brown, Union County Board of D.D.

Key Topics:

Understanding Accessibility Challenges:

• The real-world impact of inaccessible spaces on people with disabilities.
• How Universal Changing Tables provide dignity and independence for individuals and caregivers.

Progress in the Changing Spaces Movement:

• The growing number of installations across Ohio.
• Partnerships with county boards, businesses, and local governments to increase accessibility.

Success Stories & Room for Improvement:

• Stories from families and individuals who have benefited from new installations.
• The next steps needed to ensure even greater accessibility statewide.

Resources:

• Learn more about Changing Spaces Ohio: Ohio Chapter | ChangingSpacesUSA

Have a story to share? The Ohio DD Council is looking for individuals to feature on the podcast. Submit your story!

Thank you for tuning in. Don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode!

Transcript

[Shari Cooper]
What's up everybody, it's your girl again, Shari Cooper. Today's episode is exciting because we get to hear from two former guests, Jennifer Corcoran and Kim Kirkwood, the leaders of Changing Spaces Ohio. We originally spoke to Jennifer and Kim in the fall of 2024, and let me tell you, they have done some awesome things since then.

If you haven't listened to the first episode, titled Ambassador Shari Cooper Talks Universal Changing Tables, you may want to check that out first. You can find it on Buzzsprout or Spotify. We also have three additional guests today from county boards across Ohio who have helped grow the Changing Spaces movement.

We have Chase Waits of the Delaware County Board of D.D., Rita Price of the Franklin County Board of D.D., and Karen Brown of the Union County Board of D.D. So let's get into it and learn how Ohio is improving the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families by installing Universal Changing Tables across the state. Let's go, let's go, let's go! So today we have an update from Changing Spaces Ohio.

So with that, I'm not going to lollygag on, I'm going to do introductions, and I'll start with Kim. Kim, can you introduce yourself?

[Kim Kirkwood]
Hi, I'm Kim Kirkwood. I am one of the chapter leaders for Changing Spaces Ohio, and I'm a mom to Aidan, who's 12 years old, and Aidan has disabilities and medical conditions, and he requires some accommodations in life and in our community, so he's my inspiration for doing this work.

[Shari Cooper]
Okay, thank you, Kim. Jennifer?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
Hello, my name is Jennifer Corcoran, and I co-lead Changing Spaces Ohio with Kim. My son Matthew is 24, and he has been a strong advocate in this area as well. He is also my inspiration that got me started with our advocacy, and then has grown my community.

[Shari Cooper]
Chase?

[Chase Waits]
Good morning, my name is Chase Waits. I'm the director of communications and community engagement with the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

This work is really important to me, not just to support the people that we support at the county board, but also to serve all people, and I'm also a legal guardian of a couple of adults, one of whom directly benefits from this work as well.

[Shari Cooper]

Rita?

[Rita Price]
Good morning, I'm Rita Price. I'm the communications coordinator at Franklin County DD, and I headed up our grant program last year to fund a lot, to fund community organizations that were up for adding universal changing tables to their public spaces. And I learned a lot throughout this year, and I was wonderfully inspired by so many advocates, and it was a great success, and we look forward to telling you about it.

[Shari Cooper]

Kara?

[Kara Brown]
Good morning, my name is Kara Brown. I'm a superintendent with Hardin and Union Counties. I kind of by default ended up doing a lot of the work around some of the inclusion work and the changing tables this summer.

I think it's incredibly important for us to help not only people with disabilities become part of their communities, but also help bring our communities along to better understand and become comfortable with how they can include people with disabilities. And so this has been incredibly rewarding in working with our communities and educating them as we've done some of this work.

[Shari Cooper]
I'd like to thank you all for joining me today. So let's kick it out with Kim. Kim, can you remind us what Changing Spaces Ohio does and why its work is important to the local and national disability community?

[Kim Kirkwood]
Sure. Well, Jennifer and I started out really just out of necessity advocating for what our own sons needed, and we found each other online. We found each other on Facebook, and we connected to the National Changing Spaces Campaign, which has 26 state chapters currently, mostly made up of self-advocates and parents of children that have a disability that need more accommodations in the restroom than what are typically available.

And we realized as we started advocating that we were doing what we were going to be doing was going to benefit so many more people than only our children. And so we took on that responsibility. We tried to learn more about all different kinds of disabilities, different kinds of needs, whether somebody may need a changing table, an adult-size changing table or a Hoyer lift or a door opening button for the restroom.

And we try to really incorporate all of that into our advocacy work. And it's just so important to us to just take this barrier that exists in people's lives that prevents them from being able to go out into the community and spend time out shopping or just enjoying their parks or going to a movie. And we're just trying to eliminate that little by little, one at a time, one step at a time.

And it really is a long game. It's not something that happens overnight. We've been working on this together for about three years now, but we both worked prior to meeting each other for a few years as well.

And Jennifer worked for years trying to get laws passed in Ohio to try to impact this problem. And we've also worked with the Ohio Building Code to get this to be a requirement in our Ohio Building Code. We've made lots of partnerships in our state with different community organizations, state organizations like Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the Department of Developmental Disabilities, Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio DD Council, and then these three wonderful faces that we have joining us here from some of our county boards of DD, which have been super instrumental in all of the success that we've had this year and ongoing. They really jumped on board and became allies for us.

And it was amazing the wave of support that we had from the county boards of DD.

[Shari Cooper]
Sounds like you've been really busy.

[Kim Kirkwood]
Yes, we've been very busy.

And we've seen so many people pick up this issue and take it and run with it in their own counties. And not only that, but innovate in ways that will make their county more accessible, not only just encouraging businesses and providing grant funds to businesses to install universal changing tables, but problem solving in those different spaces that may not have had enough space before, starting new programs of borrowing changing tables. I don't want to get too ahead of myself here, but there's just been so many great solutions that have come about for all different types of settings so that people with disabilities can go to those places now.

[Shari Cooper]
That's great. Thank you, Kim. So Jennifer, can I ask you, can you remind us, what is a universal changing table?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
Sure. A universal changing table is a height adjustable adult size table, usually around 30 inches by 70 inches is what we like to shoot for. That is used for anybody who is from birth to over 500, or 400 or 500 pounds for changing or addressing medical needs.

So height adjustability is very important. They have safety side rails. Some have a safety belt and the location of the tables is best in a family restroom or a single use restroom, always need privacy.

And these tables can be installed against the wall, just like a baby changing table, or they can be freestanding and mobile to be used in different places.

[Shari Cooper]
And that's so cool because everywhere I go, I go, "I'm going to run to the bathroom to see if they have a table." And my boyfriend will go, "oh, Shari, not again." Everywhere I go, I run right to the bathroom.

I'm happy to say they are popping up all over Dayton because I live in Dayton. I'm very happy to see it. So, Kim, I will come back to you to ask you, what are some of the biggest misconceptions about accessible and public restrooms?

[Kim Kirkwood]
Yeah, Shari, I have to say before I answer your question, I do that too. Everywhere I go, I am looking at the bathrooms. And it's because I'm always looking for new places that have enough space in their bathroom that I could possibly approach them to say, hey, have you ever thought about installing a universal changing table in your bathroom?

Look, you have enough room. So, I'm doing that all the time everywhere I go.

[Shari Cooper]
I'm glad, Kim. I'm not the only one because I know people go, "what is she running to the bathroom for?" That's good to hear.

[Kim Kirkwood]
We're always assessing for new places. So, that could become more accessible. But one of the biggest misconceptions about accessibility and public restrooms is that most people who have never experienced disability in their own lives kind of assume that because we have the Americans with Disabilities Act that passed in 1990, that that act itself ensures that everything will be fully accessible everywhere, which is not, unfortunately, the case.

You know, we've had so many new innovations happen in the last 25 years since the ADA has passed that are not specifically mentioned in that law. And, you know, anything from hearing loops to Braille trails and universal changing tables and all kinds of new technology that make places more accessible and more inclusive. And so, we would love to see that law eventually become updated.

But it's just not true that because we have the ADA that everything is fully 100% accessible. So, it takes advocates like Jennifer and I to go out and what we do really is educate. We go to our, you know, our local leadership.

We go to our boards of DD. We go to businesses. And we just we first start by letting them know what the problem is, is that they may think they have an accessible restroom, but it's really not accessible to somebody who needs a changing service to lay down and somebody that's bigger than a baby.

And 99% of people that we talk to have never thought about this before because they've never faced this barrier in their life and they don't have anybody in their life that they've helped or given care to that needs this. So, it's like an eye opener for most people like, oh, I've never even thought about that. But once we educate them about that need, then the ball is in their court to, you know, decide is this something that's feasible in my building?

How can I get the resources? How can I get the funds to install this? And then we try to walk them through that process and help them connect them with funding.

We help make recommendations about what changing table would fit in their bathroom the best to allow enough space to still move around. So, that's really the biggest misconception is that everything is already accessible.

[Shari Cooper]
Thank you. That was well explained. So, Jennifer, I'm going to come back to you and ask you, what are the biggest barriers to getting universal changing tables installed in public spaces?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
There's a few barriers. And I would say the biggest ones would be, first one is lack of knowledge. Folks not really understanding that they need to have those within their buildings.

Space can be an issue. You know, when you look at retrofitting, not every building has the space. That's just the reality of it.

And money, I think that people are misinformed that this is really expensive. And I think it's hard for folks to really understand it's really not so expensive to do. And that's why we push, you know, when we do have folks put them in, we want them to talk to everybody.

We want, you know, use them as an example. They'll all say, have people contact me so that people can see real projects and learn that they really weren't that expensive. It wasn't that big of a deal in order to put them in.

And just the buy-in and, you know, how many times we go to places and we talk to them and they say, well, we don't have people that come to our building that would need those. And Kim once said, and this just kind of sticks with me, that until you are accessible, fully accessible, you don't know the people that you're missing. And that's the reality of it.

You know, we will sell folks, well, you don't have people that would need universal tables here because you're not, you don't have them. So we don't come here. So I think that those are a few of the biggest barriers that we find.

They are starting to dwindle as we have folks that are being educated, especially across the state of Ohio. But those are our biggest barriers.

[Shari Cooper]
And as I always say, you might not need accessible right now, but if you keep on living, you might need something accessible. And if you don't need it, that means you probably didn't outlive your disability. Because at some time, everyone's going to have a disability.

That's the way I see it anyway. So Jennifer and Kim, we spoke last year on this topic. And I just want to know what has Changing Spaces and its allies accomplished since we last spoke in September 2024?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
Oh, thank you. You know, I was thinking about this this morning and I thought, gosh, September, that wasn't a long time ago. But then I really started thinking, you know, we had ODOT open their first rest area, first of 29, that will have universal changing tables.

And we had a major media blast with this, which, you know, in our advocacy, that is the key. We have to talk. We have to show.

We have to, you know, model for folks. And, you know, we did that with the governor. At the same time, we've got the governor's ear.

And he's even taken the work that we've done and passed it on to the National Governors Association. So every governor in the country had something come across their desk that showed what we did with ODOT on the state of Ohio. So it's just, you know, moving across.

We were working with, you know, Dayton Art Institute just opened up theirs. We've got Dayton Convention Center about to share theirs. We've been working with the building code.

We're going back to make it better than what it was already. Kim and I are working with the state of Ohio. We are also working with the folks at the international level.

Our Air Force Museum is working on a project. Our Heart put in a table and a lift. And then, you know, we've even got all of the county boards who have been putting in all of the tables that they've been doing.

You know, we had $4.4 million that went to these projects in 2024. And so we've been hearing about honorable artists that are coming up in that area as well.

[Shari Cooper]
I'm glad to hear that because I just want to say I'm on the facilities board at the Dayton Art Institute. And I told them they needed a changing table. So yay for the Dayton Art Institute.

I'm very proud of their success and I'm glad to be on their facility board. So again, Kim, I want to make sure I open it up to you to say what you think Changing Spaces Ohio has accomplished in your eyes.

[Kim Kirkwood]
Yeah, I think just building all of our partnerships across Ohio has been key for us. We realized very early on that Jennifer and I are only two people, even though we are go-getters and we work hard. We have a finite amount of time and energy.

We have to reserve some of that for our own families and our own sons. And so getting so many allies across our state, we have been so lucky that here in Ohio, we've received the response that we have from our state agencies, from some of our allies that are here on the screen with us, from our county boards. Because once we kind of created all of these partnerships, all those people could go out and multiply the efforts that we had.

We recently were just featured in Retrofit magazine. We had an article there. So it's nice to see some of those national publications that are including and spotlighting what a universal changing table is.

And we're really excited that so many airports are getting on board, too, to install more universal changing tables. And part of that is because of the grant funding that came down from the Federal Department of Transportation to the airports and the airport, the FAA act that kind of injected some funds in that way into our airports. And so that's been wonderful to see for traveling.

There's just been, I mean, we can't take credit necessarily for all of that, but we're a piece in the puzzle of all of the advocacy work that's happened across the country with Changing Spaces campaign. So we're really proud of that. And we're proud of all of our state chapters for all the work they do.

[Shari Cooper]
That is great. That's another place I look for, in the airport. I think I was in North Carolina and I went into a accessible restroom and there was a changing table.

I was so happy. I thought that was cool. Kim, how have you engaged business and government officials or the general public in this conversation?

[Kim Kirkwood]
Well, we just have gone to city council meetings. We have reached out to our local officials, our representatives, our state representatives. Sometimes it takes a few different tries to find the right person that kind of has their own life experience that they can tie this back to that kind of helps them to understand why this is important.

Sometimes we'll reach out to a representative and they won't necessarily think that this is a very big issue because they've never experienced it. Really what we always tell people when we're talking to new advocates or younger parents that have younger children that are just starting to realize that this is going to be a big barrier in their lives, just to keep trying. Just keep reaching out.

You will eventually find those people that will help and want to be engaged. Jennifer reached out earlier in her advocacy career to lots of representatives in her area and had a huge advocacy campaign to try to get a law passed in Ohio. It didn't end up coming to fruition.

There's so many laws that are introduced that never get any time to be considered. What was more effective at the end of that was she was contacted by the International Code Council. That is an international group of experts that write new building code.

Jennifer was part of that. Jennifer, do you want to talk about that a little bit?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
It's interesting because you go down a path and you think it's going to get you to a certain place and then something comes out of another direction. That's kind of what Kim and I have experienced, not only with the code, the building code, but even with the county boards. Our single biggest push in Ohio and success in Ohio has been due to the county boards of DD across the state.

It was one afternoon of us talking to all the superintendents of the county boards that completely turned this campaign into a project that was on a path of success because we grew our allies. But just continue, be persistent, and you don't know, you think you might know what path needs to happen. But if you continue to go down that path, sometimes you find there's a better path in another area.

And you've got to pay attention to that. And you've got to be able to move and flex and turn according to your audience.

[Shari Cooper]
And Jennifer, that was a great segue because I want to bring in my county board now. So now I'm going to Chase, Rita, and Kara. Chase, I'll start with you.

Have you been able to install universal changing tables in your county? If so, tell us about some of your projects.

[Chase Waits]
Sure. So we actually started focusing on this initiative back in 2020. And we have a locally funded grant through levy funds at the Delaware County Board that we were able to utilize about once a year to pay for a changing table in the community.

Those first couple years, they were utilized by one of our townships, Orange Township. They installed tables. Kim helped us get the word out and to advocate and to convince them that it was necessary.

And the great thing is once you get one, then it shows why it's necessary and why it's helpful. And it's a lot easier to get that second one, that third one. So we've paid for several tables through Orange Township the last couple of years, just with our local dollars.

But then with the ARPA funds that were made available to county boards in 2024, we were able to kind of make a big jump. So I'll just read off a list of a few of the tables that we were able to fund last year. So we were able to fund a table at Huntington Park for the Columbus Clippers.

We were able to fund a replacement table for COSI in Columbus. They had a fixed height table. So we were able to fund an adjustable height table, which is the preferred table.

We were able to fund two tables at the IKEA store at the Polaris Mall. We're funding a table at a new Kroger Marketplace store in Powell. We are funding a table at our local preservation parks system.

And again, that I think is going to be the first of many. Once they have built this facility that is open the entire time the park is open, and that is fully accessible, this is going to be their new model. So that, again, it starts with one, but it goes so much further than that.

We also paid for a table at our source point, which is our senior center. So they'll have an accessible locker room that's fully accessible. We paid for about 25 uses a year of the Momentum Refresh vehicle over the next two years.

So throughout this year and in 2026. Our hope is that, again, the community will see the value, the importance, and the dignity that that lends. And then they'll take on that project either with future uses of Momentum Refresh or helping us install permanent solutions at those community events as well.

And finally, we funded a couple of tables in cooperation with the Union County Board.

[Shari Cooper]
Why are they important to you? And how will they help your community?

[Chase Waits]
It's important to all of us. I mean, using the bathroom is basically dignity. I mean, it really doesn't amount to much more than that.

I mean, everyone, we talk about inclusion, you know, in the work that we do every day. It doesn't get, you know, much more basic than this. It is really, you need to have accessible facilities to be inclusive.

And this is just a very, very elementary step. Again, that people don't think about ahead of time. They don't understand the importance of until they realize that they're excluding people by not having these facilities.

So it means everything. But again, it's super, super simple and basic. And everybody needs it.

So why not make sure that all of our facilities everywhere in the community are inclusive as much as they can be? And it helps everybody, not just the population, you know, people with developmental disabilities. Like you said, Sherry, the aging population, anybody has the opportunity to need this at some point in their lives.

So let's make it accessible for everybody, inclusive for everybody.

[Shari Cooper]
I agree, Chase. When you gotta go, you gotta go. So Rita, I'm gonna pose the same question to you.

[Rita Price]
Thanks, Shari. Well, like Delaware County, over the past year, we've been able to fund a number of changing tables in our county. And we're pretty thrilled about that.

We also applied for a grant for some ARPA funds. Looking back, I wish we had applied for even more because it was pretty easy to give it out. We decided to do subgrants, you know, to apply for a certain amount and then to let community organizations apply to us for a grant.

And we purposely kept the amount kind of small. We did $15,000 grants right around there, somewhere a little more, a little less, because we thought that gave us the best chance to have a lot of changing tables in the community. Not everyone's restroom was Restroom was completely renovated, you know, of course, with just that amount of money, but we were thrilled at how many places were willing to, you know, kick in their own money for the rest of it and renovate restrooms. There are a lot of nice tables that are wall-mounted. We also funded some that are mobile tables, portable tables, because we believe it's better to have something than nothing.

I mean, we were happy when there was a really, you know, top-of-the-line wall-mounted table, but for some places it simply made more sense for them to have a mobile one. So I'll just, I'll name some of the places because, you know, we're a big city and we're the capital of the state and lots of families come to enjoy these venues. We funded, we gave out 15 grants and we were able to fund 23 tables in Franklin County.

So CAPA, the Arts Association, the Ohio Theater has a nice remodeled restroom and a table. The Reif Center Theater, where I know Kim's son has been before, they're set up now. Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, they've added a table where they have an inclusive playground.

The state fairgrounds, the Franklin County Fairgrounds, Bridge Park, the City of Dublin, Reynoldsburg, the City of Hilliard, the OSU Schottenstein Center. So yeah, we were really thrilled with the list. One of the first things that we did after we got some money was to produce a video that we had that professionally done.

And I think it came out nicely. And Kim and her son are featured in that and another one of our families. And having that visual piece, having that media piece has helped us to make the case out in the community.

And we've had a lot of good reaction because as you all have said, a lot of people just don't have a concept of this. They can't picture a universal changing table. They don't know how important it is for families.

They don't know what's happening when a family has to go out into a parking lot and put their older child on the floor in the back seat. So having this video has really helped us to make the case. And then one thing we did as well is start a table lending program.

Jennifer and Kim have been super helpful and encouraged us on that. And so we have a mobile table that we do lend out at no charge for community events. It's primarily gone to conferences, things like that, but we've used it.

It's getting around. We would just like to try to encourage others to maybe make an investment in picking up and delivering it. It's kind of a big job to pass it around.

But yeah, so that's gone really, really well.

[Shari Cooper]
Thank you, Rita. And if you share the link, we'll share the video on this podcast so people can see the link to Kim's video. Sure.

I will get that to you. And last but not least, Kim, I'd like to pass the same question to you for Union County.

[Kara Brown]
Thank you, Shari. I'm kind of wishing I wasn't following Rita and Chase at this point, but we have some exciting things going on as well. As Chase mentioned, we were able to partner with Delaware County for Union County.

So we've got a table installed at the YMCA, and we were also able to install a table in a portable changing trailer. And that's kind of an interesting story or a little bit of information I want to share. And it actually came out of Hardin County.

So we've partnered with RV Wholesalers, and they continue to work with us both in Hardin and Union Counties to build a fully accessible trailer that can be used by families for camping. They've already installed the tables. We've got some ramps, but they're working with us to create a lift system that would make it so that families can actually purchase a trailer, a camping trailer that they can then go out and use, and it would be fully accessible.

So that's still in progress. And if you don't mind, I'd like to talk a little bit about what we've been able to do in Hardin County as well. All of this through the ARPA grants.

We were also able to buy a changing trailer in Hardin County, which is pretty novel. Hardin's pretty rural. We're very small.

We serve about 300 people. But our trailer made a big splash at the fair. People were pretty excited to see it.

We've been able to take it to a couple of other events. And ideally, we'd like to be able to loan it out to families who are having family reunions or large events that are happening where maybe somebody may need a changing space. We've also been able to get changing tables at the Kenton City Pool, which again, for a small rural area, that's pretty exciting.

We have a fully accessible playground. So our city administration is hoping that they can become known as a small rural accessible community, which is pretty exciting. And then finally, we were also able to purchase a portable table and tent.

So if we can't lug the trailer around, or we can't get it to an event, somebody needs something smaller, they can borrow that from us as well. And it's, again, it's been very exciting to see it kind of take off in one of our smaller counties. Like most people, and Kim and Jennifer mentioned it, it had never really occurred to me what it would mean for an adult to need a changing table out in the community and what that might mean for their opportunities to participate fully in activities.

And this has really opened my eyes to that. And I think to echo what Chase said, it's the most basic of human dignity and need to be able to go out and enjoy a full day at an event because you don't have to leave and go home or leave and go somewhere and change. And so these activities are incredibly exciting to me.

And I think beyond just the accessibility, I think it's a huge opportunity for education, even if people simply ask, hey, what's that table for? It's an opportunity to educate. So it's been a very exciting project to be a part of.

[Shari Cooper]
Yeah, thank you. We are so happy to hear that, especially in the rural area, because we want to make sure we're reaching people in the rural area. Just think about a trailer with a changing table.

How cool is that? That means you could go on vacation, you could go camping, and not have to worry about a basic necessity. So you should be very proud of your county because that's just cool stuff.

Very cool. So I'm going to go back to Jennifer. What's next for your advocacy work?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
What's next? We're going to continue. And I have to say, just listening to these three counties, three out of 49, talk about what they've done in the last year.

I'm literally sitting here thinking I never in a million years would have guessed I'd ever be sitting in this position, hearing other people talk about all that they have done to put universal changing tables into our communities. I'm a little bit emotional just hearing the work that's happening and the excitement and the value that folks are adding to our communities. So we're going to continue.

I think about last year was, and actually the last two years, because I work with the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities. So the last two years I've been out advocating and saying, and we have money. And I look at 2025 now as advocating for tables, and I don't have that.

We've got money on the back end of it. And so I'm interested to see what happens. And I'm very hopeful and I'm predicting we're still going to see tables go in because what's happened is the snowball has started.

It's started and it just keeps going. We're already seeing people that are reaching out to Kim and I on a daily basis. We want to put in a table and we just need help so that we do it properly.

And not we need money, not, you know, they're already doing it without that lens of peace. So that's very hopeful. Continuing to broaden our ally support, you know, Kim and I were very active with the Changing Spaces, the national campaign, and it's become much more organized and we meet on consistent basis.

We talk with our friends, you know, daily sharing our information. So sharing that information and hoping, you know, to see more movement across the country, which, you know, we already are. We had our California advocate was actually invited to the State of the Union address.

She was invited to talk about Medicaid, but in her interviews with her representative, she did talk a lot about Changing Spaces as well. So just broadening that and lifts, lifts to go with the tables. To me, that is very needed.

You know, we went in going, we need tables, we need tables. We've got people listening. People are on this accessibility train.

We need to beef it up. Because once you put the lifts in with the tables, that makes it so that truly everybody can use them. So that's kind of what I think is next for our advocacy work.

[Shari Cooper]
And, you know, we need more money. Because you need, you got tables, we need lifts, and lifts cost money. So we need more money.

I just throw it out for you. You know, like I said, I know we got money, but we need more so it can be totally accessible. So Kim, I'm going to come back to you.

How can people who need universal changing tables find one?

[Kim Kirkwood]
Yes. So one of the projects that Jennifer and I did is we started prior to getting this wonderful opportunity to have grant funding come down from our state last year, we were facing this issue of, you know, everyone asking, is there grant funding available? And not only that, but where do we find the changing tables?

So our solution to that was to start our own nonprofit organization, which is called Inspired Access Foundation. And our goal was to raise funds so that we could sponsor some changing tables and other equipment that will help make a place more accessible. And not only that, but we sponsored the Changing Spaces Campaign National website, because we believe that is a huge resource for anyone to go to, to learn more about universal changing tables, what's the proper way to install one, what are the requirements and features that are really important to look for when purchasing, you know, deciding which one to purchase.

And we also sponsored the universal changing table map. And that's something that we keep a large database of where all the changing tables are across the United States and some in Canada. And we're constantly receiving new submissions to be added to the map of, you know, new places that have installed one and they come in from all across the country.

It's really cool to see them come in, you know, from states across the country. Almost every day we get a new submission to the map. So the map is called the universal changing table map.

And anyone can view it. It's really easy to get to. You just go to www.uctmap.com.

And it's an interactive map. You can zoom in, you can see pictures of the changing table or whatever equipment is available at that location. There's pins all over the map.

You can get directions to your nearest one. And, you know, if you live in a place that doesn't have very many surrounding you, it can be a great tool to show your, you know, local leadership, like, look, we don't have any in our, even in our county or surrounding counties. Let's take this on as a project and add some.

So it's good for lots of different reasons. You're planning out your day, planning out a day trip, planning out a vacation, maybe a trip across the state. You can see where you can stop and have access to universal changing table.

So that's something we're working on all the time. Oh, and I wanted to add, Sherry, that I'm, one thing I'm, we are so super proud of the county boards is their, not only their investments in installing changing tables in permanent locations, but the mobile solutions they've invested in. So purchasing a, you know, mobile changing table that can be lent out to the community, sponsoring the momentum refresh vehicle, which is a fully accessible family restroom with a lift and a universal changing table inside and a wheelchair lift to get in and out.

And like Kara was saying, investing in portable, changing mobile restroom trailers to have available for community events. So far that we know of, we've been tracking the projects across the state. 34 of our Ohio counties have access to either a mobile changing table with a tent or a changing trailer or a changing table lending, have started a changing table lending program or are sponsoring the momentum refresh vehicle.

So there's been a huge investment in that for fairs and outdoor community events to have a mobile solution come to that event. So that's been really awesome.

[Shari Cooper]
I have used that map for a presentation I gave. It's a pretty cool map to hit the button and then zoom in on where the table is. And people go, wow!

So that's a great tool you have created. Very good. So I have one more question, and this is for all y'all.

How can listeners support your work and help spread awareness. And I'm going to go backwards, so I'm going to Kara first?

[Kara Brown]
I think one of the best ways to be able to help spread awareness and share information is just to encourage people to ask questions. Again, seeing a changing table and not knowing what it is, giving them access to ask questions and be curious about what it is. I think that's a great way to spread awareness as well as the opportunity to put out our lending libraries, if you will, our mobile trailers and just promoting, working with our partners to promote where tables exist.

Because again, if you don't know where to find one and maybe you're not aware of the map, build it and they will come. I think we've kind of touched on that a little bit here today. And you don't know how much you need it until you've got one and people start using it.

So.

[Shari Cooper]
And Rita, how can listeners support your work and help spread awareness?

[Rita Price]
Well, I think that Kim and Jennifer have certainly shown over the past few years the power of family voices. And we like to encourage our families, our self-advocates, others to to help educate the community if they go somewhere and there's not a table and there's an opportunity to have conversation and help inform managers and leaders and organizations. I think that can be really effective.

Same thing with public officials. I'll be blunt. We haven't always succeeded ourselves in some of those conversations, but we're going to keep at it.

It makes a huge difference. And just super fast, there was one place that received a grant from us. This was a church, a large church.

We allowed some faith-based organizations to apply for funds so long as they had activities and outreach that was not just limited to their members. It was open to the public. And before a recent event, they said that they had 30 families call in or people were calling in and asking if a table was available and or they were folks who came who use wheelchairs.

So the table that we had funded for that event, it was used dozens of times. And I was really heartened that people asked ahead of time. They were happy to have it.

And then they'll be good ambassadors to go out and spread the word. So thank you.

[Shari Cooper]
That is great outreach. Thank you for sharing that, Rita. Chase, I'll give you the floor.

[Chase Waits]
I'm going to echo what Kara and Rita said. I think asking questions is super, super important. Asking questions, asking why not here.

A few of you already mentioned looking at bathrooms when you go to the public spaces. Is there room here for a changing table? Can we have that conversation?

So asking why not here and then offering tangible solutions for things that you encounter for accessibility. Accessibility is a journey. We're never going to fully get there.

We're always going to chip away at it. So that could be things like door openers. That could be things like changing tables.

That could be sensory-friendly fixtures in restrooms. It could be so many different things. But ask questions.

Say, this doesn't work for me. This is what would. And just kind of drawing those connections for people.

Because they want to be right. They want to do the right thing. They just don't know what it is.

And until somebody stands up and says, this is what works for me. This is what I need to be included. I think that's going to be the tipping point for everything.

[Shari Cooper]
I love it. Thank you, Chase. Jennifer?

[Jennifer Corcoran]
Yeah, I think everybody's kind of on the same track here. It's talk about it, talk about it, talk about it, talk about it.

You know, show it. And I also, you know, I'm in a position where if I'm approaching places and they're not interested in working with us to make their places accessible, they're not going to have my business. And, you know, I think that all of us need to pay attention to where we are giving our business.

If they are interested in listening, I know that sometimes there isn't a solution. But if they're at least willing to listen and try, great, that we will go there. But if not, we're not going to give them our presence.

I think it's important for us as county boards, as we're doing these lending programs, and we're putting our trailers out there to advocate the heck out of it. It's, you know, we have a trailer and we're trying to work out a way that we're there so that we're pulling people in because people walk by and they look. We've dealt with that.

I've dealt with it for 24 years with Matthew and people who walk by and just look. And I always pull them in and say, this is Matthew. And we introduce and we talk and we help people understand.

And I think we're going to have to do that same thing with our trailers and our lending programs and these tables. Pull people in, educate them, show them, you know, give them the opportunities to learn more. And I think that's how we're going to get where we need to in our advocacy.

[Shari Cooper]
Thank you, Kim. And thank you for that because I'll pull them in and if they won't pull, they cannot have my business. So thank you for that. And Kim?

[Kim Kirkwood]
And Kim? Yeah, something that Jennifer and I talk about all the time when we're doing our Changing Spaces work is we have our Facebook group. We're on Facebook a lot just promoting anytime there's a new changing table that gets installed, we're celebrating it.

But we're also connecting with other families like ours and showing the results, the end result. And sometimes it's great to celebrate, but you got to also show the steps that got you there. And it may have taken some time.

It may have taken a lot of advocacy, but we always want to encourage other families, parents, self-advocates that, you know, you can do this too. Your voice is extremely important. Your personal story is very, very powerful.

So share that when you go places. And I think sometimes it can be scary to share your personal story and to say what you need because what if they say no? It's, it can be a little hurtful.

You know, it can be hurtful to say, no, that's not important to our business. And it can feel like, well, that means I'm not important or that means my son isn't important. But the more you do it, the easier it gets and you get your skin thickened up a little bit and you realize they're not saying that you're not important.

They're just maybe seeing this project that they don't know how they could execute it. And it's your job just to give them resources, give them encouragement, keep trying to explain why it is important. And you will have those successes where you meet someone that understands and is willing to do that project and get that changing table installed.

So just be courageous, tell your personal story and say what you need. And, you know, you'll maybe surprise yourself how much you can get accomplished in your community.

[Shari Cooper]
I know you had told me a lot and I appreciate everybody for joining us. But before we go, Kim and Jennifer, is there anything else? And I want to make sure you brag a little bit about rest stops being—uh, changing tables being at Ohio rest stops.

You must mention it.

[Kim Kirkwood]
I believe it's 29 Ohio Highway Rest Stops are being torn down and fully rebuilt. And it was kind of the older ones that were a little bit outdated. Governor DeWine and our Ohio Department of Transportation decided that those were going to be slated for demolition and rebuilt as accessible, modern.

And we happened to get in touch with ODOT at just the perfect timing to explain why it's important for the Rest Stops to have universal changing tables. So far, I believe we have four opened in Ohio. And more will be opening this spring and over the next two years as they all reach their completion dates.

So it'll be fantastic to be able to travel across the state and stop at these Rest Stops. So we're really proud of our state, our Department of Transportation, and just very thankful.

[Jennifer Corcoran]
Last word. That's powerful. I better have a good one.

I actually want to end with, you know, we've talked about how to get this to happen and how it's sharing resources and talking with folks. Our website, our Changing Spaces Campaign website, you know, Kim is the genius behind the map and the website. And they are, without a doubt, the best resources that anybody can use.

And I strongly encourage, if you're going to talk about these, if you have questions about them, the website has anything and everything you could ever want. And she keeps it up on a daily basis. I mean, it's very, very good.

And ask questions. Kim and I get a lot of folks asking us questions. We love that.

Because as we hear from different people, we are learning every day. You know, I went into this thinking, well, I understand and I know because I have Matthew. Oh, my gosh.

He's like one little piece. Every day we're learning, we're meeting new people. So, if you have questions, reach out to us.

Between the two of us, I think we do a pretty good job of getting back to everybody. But that also helps us because then we're connecting across the state and even across the country. So, we're very appreciative for everybody who's been working so hard.

And we have just gotten started. And we are so happy to have so many allies in this journey.

[Kim Kirkwood]
Can I say our website that Jennifer mentioned is www.changingspacescampaign.com.

[Shari Cooper]
Well, there you have it. That was a powerful conversation. I'd like to thank my guests today, Kim, Jennifer, Chase, Rita, and Kara for the great conversation on universal changing tables.

And I would like to encourage everybody to advocate for changing tables wherever you go. You can learn more on our website at ddc.ohio.gov. Oh, and one more thing before we go. The Ohio DD Council is collecting stories to highlight on our podcast.

You might even be invited to appear on the series. Are you interested? Complete a short online form using the link in our episode description.

We can't wait to hear from you. I've been your host, Shari Cooper, and I'll see you for the next episode. Everybody have a good day and happy spring to everybody.

Peace out.