Flag Raised to Mark AccessAbility Week 2024

A locally designed Accessibility flag was raised at the Essex County Civic Centre Monday to mark National AccessAbility Week, which runs from May 26 to June 1.

The flag, designed by Kristine Verbeek and selected above others by the accessibility advisory committees of Essex County and the local municipalities, features the word “Accessibility” beneath a stylized figure in a wheelchair facing the right side of the flag, with a series of seven chevrons pointing in the same direction.

“The seven chevrons on this flag represent the seven local municipalities moving forward with accessibility together in the right direction,” said Warden Hilda MacDonald. “The design of the flag echoes the theme for this year’s AccessAbility Week – Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All. It acknowledges that we’ve made much progress but still have considerable work left to do.”

MacDonald praised members of the Essex County Accessibility Advisory Committee and other local accessibility advisory committees tor their “incredible work and continued advocacy in building a barrier-free community for all.”

Dennis Sanson, Chairman of the Essex County Accessibility Advisory Committee, said the County wasn’t just raising a flag but “raising awareness and inspiring others to join our campaign for a more accessible community.”

He encouraged residents of Essex-Windsor to wear red on Wednesday – Red Shirt Day of Action for Accessibility and Inclusion – and to share those posts on social media with the hashtags #RedShirtDay and #RedForAccessAbility.

Sanson also highlighted the committee’s ongoing efforts, including the installation of benches on public trails, the reviewing of policies and building plans and engaging with the community on accessibility issues. The committee is also planning an Autumn workshop to follow up on the success last year of symposium on invisible disabilities.

This week, the committee plans on launching Phase 3 of its WE Check the Trails program, a crowd-sourcing initiative that invites trail users to identify accessibility issues on area trail networks. Phase 1 focused on the Greenway, Phase 2 focused on the CWATS Cycle Track between Kingsville and Leamington and Phase 3 will focus on the CWATS network in Lakeshore.

“It is helping to make our trail system more accessible to all,” said Sanson.