Montgomery Parks Honored For Commitment to People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 

Montgomery Parks Program Access Office has received a Community Inclusion Award from the ARC of Montgomery County, in recognition of its commitment to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The ARC is the largest organization in the world for people with IDD and their families. Each year the Montgomery County chapter holds a Community, Volunteer and Employee Awards Ceremony to honor those who show a strong commitment to connecting people of all ages and abilities with their communities.

“It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts to support people of all abilities in building active and fulfilling lives,” said Montgomery Parks Director Mike Riley. “Our Program Access Office is a dedicated team of inclusion specialists working hard to make parks and programs easily accessible for everyone.” Montgomery Parks’ Program Access office ensures that individuals with disabilities are welcomed to participate in enjoyable leisure-time activities in accessible places and programs. They accomplish this by offering enhanced staff-to-participant ratio at programs, providing inclusion and disability training for staff, providing adaptive equipment at various park locations, and working with event planners to ensure events are accessible to the public.

 “We love empowering and supporting people with disabilities so they can participate in the great programs and events Montgomery Parks offers,” said Program Access Manager Jennene Blakely, “Partnering with agencies like The Arc furthers our mission to make our programs more inclusive.”  In addition to providing inclusive programming, the Parks Department has updated its website to clearly define the level of inclusion and types of modifications available at parks and events. This allows Park visitors to search for activities online, filtering for their desired accessibility level, and then plan an outing that accommodates their needs. 

 Montgomery Parks also has an on-going plan to enhance facilities by removing physical barriers to access. That includes improvements such as building accessible restrooms, paving pathways, and making playgrounds, water fountains and boat docks accessible for all. A complete list of those projects is available on the Montgomery Parks Accessibility web page.