The Disability Awareness Walk 2014 will take place on March 5 at noon, beginning at the Chattanooga Aquarium. Organized by Ryan Galloway and Demi West, two senior Social Work students at UTC, the walk will demonstrate the difficulties faced by those with visual, hearing, and mobility disabilities.
Hosted through a cooperative effort between the UTC Social Work Department and Disability Resource Center as well as the City of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs, the walk covers a short, nearly half-mile course from the Aquarium to Five Guys, and then back again.
Participants will be partnered with group leaders with disabilities, who will lead them down Broad Street.
Over the course of the walk, cracked sidewalks, narrow sidewalk entry ways for wheelchairs, and ineffective traffic signals will be noted, and their effects will be discussed.
The event is free and open to the public, and will include an informational table at the beginning of the course. Before and after surveys will also be available for participants to complete, to gauge awareness and opinions on the issue.