WEBVTT
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It's Tuesday, mid-morning,
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and you have some place to be, the store,
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a doctor's appointment, hot yoga.
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It doesn't matter where really.
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So what do you do?
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For most of us, the answer is pretty clear.
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You jump in your car, maybe if it's close enough,
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you lace up your shoes to walk, or you ride your bike.
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Perhaps you hail a rideshare car, whatever.
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You choose a transportation mode and then you just go,
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but what if none of those options
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I just mentioned are available to you?
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What if you're an older adult without a car?
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Perhaps pair that with limited mobility.
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Maybe you suffer from a neurological disorder
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that impairs your muscles and movement.
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No car, no bike, no cab.
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How are you getting to that appointment?
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What if you didn't even have an appointment?
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All you wanted to do was go
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and enjoy some sunshine at the park?
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How do you get there?
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It bears consideration
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because there is a huge community of people out there
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who are affected by the lack of accessible,
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reliable transportation, and that population is growing.
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Thankfully, there are also people out there working
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to help make mobility especially accessible mobility,
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a priority.
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(upbeat music)
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I am Jacob Carozza,
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and you're listening to Now at Ohio State.
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We talk with researchers, innovators,
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and bold thinkers who look at our world,
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see what the real challenges are,
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and create the solutions that people need now.
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Marisa Sheldon and Christine Happel
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are respectively the director and assistant director
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of the Age-Friendly Innovation Center here in Central Ohio.
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The center works to innovate with older adults
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through research, education,
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and engagement to ensure inclusion
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and build resiliency to make communities more age-friendly,
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from helping folks try new activities
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and make new friends to the basics
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of getting around their neighborhoods.
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Marisa and Christine are helping older adults stay active,
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involved and mobile.
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They sit down with our Franny Lazarus
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to discuss the older adult population as a whole,
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what the Age-Friendly Innovation Center aims to accomplish,
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and how these innovative communities across the nation
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are impacting the mobility of older adults.
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Christine, Marisa, thank you so much for joining me today.
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I'm really looking forward to our conversation.
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Thanks for having us.
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Yeah, it's so great to be here.
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I feel like it's important to set some ground rules
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for the population that we're going to be talking about.
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That language is very important
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when talking about Ohio's older population.
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What are words we should use and words we shouldn't use?
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The way I always default is
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what I wanna be called when I'm older.
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And what feels most respectful to me is older adult
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or a person over the age of,
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when we think about words like senior or elderly,
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they often have negative connotations
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and have a lot of kind of baggage when you think
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about what those words might mean.
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And there's maybe this tendency to other,
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even when you are an older adult, so talk about older adults
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as if you're not part of that population,
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and just invite folks to, you know,
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include yourselves in that group.
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And that's maybe why we use this phrase,
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aspiring older adult, just to recognize
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that we will also one day be old.
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We're all part of this aging population.
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And just to see ourselves there one day as well.
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Yeah, I think if we use that inclusive language
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and think of ourselves in that same group
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or being in that group one day,
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we're more invested in the changes
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that could happen to support those folks.
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You know, I think about the folks working in our government
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and our politicians,
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and so often we hear that from them,
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even if they are a part of that older cohort,
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you know, in their 60s, 70s, 80s,
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they're often talking about policies
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related to older adults, about them,
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about those folks not even identifying for themselves
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that they're a part of that cohort.
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I'd love to talk about your work.
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You both come to us from the Age-Friendly Innovation Center.
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Let's talk about it.
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What is it?
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About two decades ago, the World Health Organization said,
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we are having a shift in our demographics
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across the whole world.
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We will have more older adults than we've ever had before.
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Here in the US we know that is driven
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by the Baby Boomer generation.
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And so what can we do as communities to see this
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as an opportunity to reshape our communities for the better?
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So in 2016,
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Columbus joined the Age-Friendly Communities network,
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and when we joined in 2016,
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we were only the 64th community in the US.
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Oh, wow.
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We were pretty early.
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And now there are almost 850 communities in this network.
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Wow.
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It's huge.
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It's really exciting.
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Millions and millions of people, even just here in Ohio,
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are living in these communities.
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And the age-friendly framework
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is not saying we are an age-friendly community.
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What it is asking of our communities
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is to bring older adults into a conversation
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through assessment and planning to move forward strategies
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that will make us more age-friendly.
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So a really holistic view of what it means to be engaged
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in your community, whether that's transportation,
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like we're gonna talk about today or housing,
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or emergency preparedness, employment,
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kind of that whole spectrum of the life of an older adult.
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And so as we wrapped up
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that first five year round here in Central Ohio,
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we said we are a research-informed work,
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which is rare in the age-friendly network.
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And we wanna make sure that we can get that out
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into communities across the US.
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And so becoming the Age-Friendly Innovation Center
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allowed us to expand beyond our county borders.
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And really push out our knowledge across the state of Ohio
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and across the country.
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Oh, wow. What an asset.
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Yeah.
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Who and or what are experienced experts?
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So for us, the experienced experts are the older adults
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in our community.
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While I have lots of ideas that we could move forward
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to make our community more age-friendly,
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we believe deeply that we want
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to hear it from our residents.
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We wanna hear it through surveys that we deploy,
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through focus groups,
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through our Age-Friendly Innovation Resident Council,
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and through those building of relationships.
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So that could be broadly about what they identify
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as kind of those big areas of focus for us.
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Or it could be really, really in the weeds
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in thinking about transportation
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or thinking about emergency preparedness
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and really talking about the details of that work.
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We always look to their voice as a grounding to our work
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and honor them through that language of experienced experts
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because we see them as partners
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and we see them as a critical part of our work.
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Just like you'd see any other expert in your life.
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Who better to tell you what it feels like
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to be an older adult riding the bus
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for the first time than an older adult
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riding the bus for the first time.
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On the receiving end of that, it feels more empowering.
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And I would be more likely to listen
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to the recommendations if I felt
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like they were made with me in mind.
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Absolutely.
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Yeah.
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Transportation.
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Why is that an issue that is front of mind
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for Columbus's older population?
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Similar to the rest of the US, Central Ohio older adults,
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their primary way of getting around is driving,
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the vast majority of folks
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that is their only mode of transportation.
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And what we know is that we will need to still go places
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beyond our driving retirement.
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And that is typically about seven to 10 years
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the end of our life
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that we are not able to drive ourself on a regular basis,
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that we need to still go places.
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And so how do we do that if driving is the way
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that we are all getting around?
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And we also know that for many Americans,
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access to transportation and the independence
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and autonomy to choose when
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and where we go is really highly valued.
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Yes.
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And there's correlation
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between our self-rated physical and mental health.
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And then how successfully we are able to get out and about
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and do what we want when we want.
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And so the availability, acceptability, accessibility,
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adaptability, and affordability,
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all these really great A words,
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all of transportation options is really, really important.
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And then two, just that our experiences
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as we use transportation can impact our mood.
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Christine, you started to get into some of the obstacles
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that people may face if they can't drive,
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they can't drive because they don't have a car,
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they can't drive because as Marisa said,
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they've retired from driving.
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What are some of those common obstacles?
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We know from the research that you are far more likely
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to use alternative transportation
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as an older adult if you used it when you were younger.
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But we also know folks aren't,
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I can speak anecdotally about my personal networks.
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I have quite a few friends who ride bikes
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and consider alternative transportation.
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But those who don't are like,
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if we can't go in the car, we're not going.
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(all laugh)
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It's overwhelming to start something new at any age.
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And definitely when it's been something you've been doing,
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you know, maybe 50 or 60 years.
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And so I think that shift in mindset
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is a big challenge point for all of us,
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in particular for older adults.
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And we often think around the individual behavior change
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that is often a challenge,
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but also the infrastructure that exists
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to make that behavior change possible.
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Is there a bus stop near your home?
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Is that bus stop inclusive and accessible?
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We did a project around age-friendly transit stops
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and worked through support from Columbus Foundation
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with COTA, Central Ohio Transit Authority
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to improve some bus stops that were near low income,
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older adult housing complexes
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that had previously been a pole in the ground,
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maybe in the grass, or maybe in sidewalk
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that now all have shelters with a bench and a trash can.
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That's wonderful.
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It is.
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And you know, I always love room
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to be surprised in the work that we do.
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And a really surprising takeaway for me in that project
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was when we were out in the community
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listening to our experienced experts,
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I was shocked to hear about the value of a shelter
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beyond just being a shelter from the weather
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and a protection from that.
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We held a focus group with folks
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who were all either low vision or blind,
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and they shared about two ways that it was really important
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for them that if you use a surface animal, it's much easier
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to direct that animal to a shelter-
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Sure.
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Than to just a pole.
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And then if you don't and you use a cane
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or you listen for the sounds, finding with your cane
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or listening for the sounds off of a shelter is much easier
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than just off of a pole.
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And so seeing that value beyond just the shelter
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as protection.
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And I think what I love about that story too
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is it's an example of what I want in a bus stop
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as a younger person
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who doesn't need it for those other reasons
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to be protected from the weather
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is what makes it work better for someone else
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with different abilities than me.
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And so we always use the reframe
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in the age-friendly community,
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what works for an older adult works for everyone.
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I think recognizing that we're all gonna face challenges
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of transportation, it's not an if, it's a when,
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we could have health issues, our vehicle breaks down
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to be landfall in what we will do benefits us at any age.
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And so Emma Strange,
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who's a mobility coordinator
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at the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission, MORPC
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has collaborated with us
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to create a really beautiful mobility planning document
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where you can think about the regular places
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you're gonna need to go throughout your week
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and what would you do if you couldn't get there
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using your typical mode.
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We have really tried to look
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across the entire alternative transportation spectrum
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for supporting older adults in our community.
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And we've worked with some local partners
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to pilot Community Circulators,
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in Clintonville every Tuesday,
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there's a circulator that goes around in the community
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to some important places like Kroger or Walgreens
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to make sure that folks can get to those places.
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But then I'll let you talk about Lyft
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'cause that was with a similar group,
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but another approach to supporting different needs.
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Yeah.
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So Lyft offers a concierge service.
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So in collaboration
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with the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging
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and Age-Friendly, we're able to pilot
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a Lifting Villages Initiative, is what we called it.
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So folks who were part of a village here in Columbus
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were able to then request rides using Lyft.
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And through the initiative we paid for the rides
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because I think cost is a really important thing
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to consider for folks.
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And while a Lyft once in a while might be something
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we could all budget for, taking a lift twice a week
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to go to dialysis becomes really burdensome for someone.
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And this project was intended to replicate
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some of the things we do through volunteer,
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peer-to-peer driving programs here in Central Ohio,
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and then become a backup when there was an emergency need.
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So perhaps a ride that was needed on a weekend
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or really early or quite far away in a busy area
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where it might have been more challenging
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to find a volunteer to drive.
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We talked about some of the obstacles
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that people face in terms of mobility,
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whether it's insufficient bus stops,
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sidewalks that haven't been plowed properly,
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you aren't able to use Lyft for whatever reason.
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What are some of the obstacles to fixing these solutions?
326
00:13:00.090 --> 00:13:02.280
It sounds like you have great ideas.
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I mean, one of the largest obstacles
328
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is there is just a lot of work to do.
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We have built communities
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that have prioritized cars here in the US.
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We are not alone in that in Central Ohio.
332
00:13:13.560 --> 00:13:17.040
And we have phenomenal efforts going on around that.
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If you aren't familiar with the LinkUS Initiative,
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I'd encourage folks to look that up.
335
00:13:21.390 --> 00:13:23.995
Our communities are investing in sidewalks,
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00:13:23.995 --> 00:13:25.770
but it takes a lot.
337
00:13:25.770 --> 00:13:28.770
And as we talked about, it's not one size fits all.
338
00:13:28.770 --> 00:13:32.370
And so it's gonna take effort from all of our systems.
339
00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:35.100
So I think age Friendly's safe routes to age
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and place work has really helped us
341
00:13:38.520 --> 00:13:42.870
look at what does transportation and good and affordable
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and accessible transportation look like
343
00:13:45.030 --> 00:13:46.320
at the community level.
344
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So we've worked really closely in the Clintonville community
345
00:13:49.470 --> 00:13:53.610
and I'm now in Union County to explore specifically
346
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what older adults want and need
347
00:13:55.980 --> 00:13:58.560
and some different initiatives around walking
348
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and how can we assess the walkability
349
00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.360
of a neighborhood from an age-friendly lens?
350
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How can we add alternatives to the existing network
351
00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:09.358
so that they're collaborative and expansive
352
00:14:09.358 --> 00:14:11.400
and not duplicative?
353
00:14:11.400 --> 00:14:12.420
You've shared so much with me,
354
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I really appreciate you making the time.
355
00:14:14.190 --> 00:14:15.540
Thank you for being here today.
356
00:14:15.540 --> 00:14:16.830
Thanks so much for having us.
357
00:14:16.830 --> 00:14:19.620
And if I could be so bold as to have Christine share
358
00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:21.960
our little tagline for the closing, we'd love that.
359
00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:22.793
Oh, please.
360
00:14:22.793 --> 00:14:24.990
Yeah, I thank you so much for having us
361
00:14:24.990 --> 00:14:28.170
and just a little reminder that aging is so cool.
362
00:14:28.170 --> 00:14:29.373
Everybody's doing it.
363
00:14:30.245 --> 00:14:32.378
(laughs) That's great.
364
00:14:32.378 --> 00:14:34.991
(all laugh)
365
00:14:34.991 --> 00:14:37.658
(upbeat music)
366
00:14:45.090 --> 00:14:47.700
Jen Schlegel is a 2021 Ohio State grad
367
00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:49.590
with a degree in biomedical engineering
368
00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:52.493
who won Ohio State's 20 President's Prize.
369
00:14:52.493 --> 00:14:55.770
She's also the founder and CEO of BeEnabled,
370
00:14:55.770 --> 00:14:57.420
a startup company designing projects
371
00:14:57.420 --> 00:15:00.690
that create accessibility solutions through technology.
372
00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:03.000
And if there's anyone who knows about hindered mobility
373
00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.760
and transportation options, it's her.
374
00:15:05.760 --> 00:15:07.530
Jen was born with cerebral palsy
375
00:15:07.530 --> 00:15:09.090
and deals with the inefficiencies
376
00:15:09.090 --> 00:15:10.860
and sometimes non-existence
377
00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:14.220
of accessible transportation options regularly.
378
00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:15.690
Now she's dedicated her time
379
00:15:15.690 --> 00:15:18.810
and efforts to help alleviate those hardships for others.
380
00:15:18.810 --> 00:15:20.430
She sits down with our Ross Bishoff
381
00:15:20.430 --> 00:15:22.830
to discuss the struggles she's had to deal with,
382
00:15:22.830 --> 00:15:24.690
what she's learned from those struggles
383
00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:26.370
and how she's striving to make sure
384
00:15:26.370 --> 00:15:29.220
others don't have to deal with those same inconveniences.
385
00:15:30.150 --> 00:15:31.770
Jen, thank you so much for being here today.
386
00:15:31.770 --> 00:15:32.700
How you doing?
387
00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:34.470
I'm good, it's good to see you, Ross.
388
00:15:34.470 --> 00:15:36.975
You've dealt with so many chronic health issues
389
00:15:36.975 --> 00:15:37.854
your whole life.
390
00:15:37.854 --> 00:15:39.870
Would you be willing to maybe just share
391
00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:42.300
some of what those challenges have been for you?
392
00:15:42.300 --> 00:15:43.800
So I'm a Christmas baby
393
00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:45.600
that was supposed to be an Easter baby.
394
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.482
I was the baby that wasn't supposed to make it
395
00:15:47.482 --> 00:15:48.315
through the night.
396
00:15:48.315 --> 00:15:50.550
And from that I have a brain damage based
397
00:15:50.550 --> 00:15:53.310
developmental disability called cerebral palsy.
398
00:15:53.310 --> 00:15:55.170
I wasn't supposed to walk or talk.
399
00:15:55.170 --> 00:15:57.503
And so when I came into this university,
400
00:15:57.503 --> 00:16:01.140
I had one or two health problems,
401
00:16:01.140 --> 00:16:04.500
but I literally rolled away in the end with 15.
402
00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:07.410
And because I had an illness in 2016
403
00:16:07.410 --> 00:16:09.870
that triggered an autonomic nervous system disorder
404
00:16:09.870 --> 00:16:11.340
called dystonia.
405
00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:13.020
And so from that I got to learn
406
00:16:13.020 --> 00:16:15.270
a whole new world of chronic illness.
407
00:16:15.270 --> 00:16:17.100
I relearnt how to walk seven times.
408
00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:20.143
I've had more anesthesia than I am years old
409
00:16:20.143 --> 00:16:23.921
and I only have good use of four of my fingers.
410
00:16:23.921 --> 00:16:27.150
College for me was this really long odyssey
411
00:16:27.150 --> 00:16:30.000
that in the end I had a concussion, a wheelchair,
412
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.000
a breathing machine, a cracked kneecap, some catheters,
413
00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.910
some feeding tubes, periods of temporary paralysis
414
00:16:35.910 --> 00:16:37.470
and so much more.
415
00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:39.480
What I see as the challenges
416
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:42.810
are what those experiences have caused in my life.
417
00:16:42.810 --> 00:16:44.880
So, you know, the problems that have been produced
418
00:16:44.880 --> 00:16:45.713
are aggravated.
419
00:16:45.713 --> 00:16:48.000
So the financial strain, the social strain,
420
00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.570
educational, relational, and especially mobility,
421
00:16:51.570 --> 00:16:53.190
those really are the things I think about
422
00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:54.510
when I think about the challenges
423
00:16:54.510 --> 00:16:57.810
and not so much about what my lived experience has been.
424
00:16:57.810 --> 00:17:01.644
So what are the mobility challenges you face
425
00:17:01.644 --> 00:17:04.170
and others like you that maybe the rest of us
426
00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:05.280
don't know about?
427
00:17:05.280 --> 00:17:09.330
Yeah, there are a lot of challenges around this
428
00:17:09.330 --> 00:17:11.160
because there are so many misconceptions
429
00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:12.958
and so many restrictions.
430
00:17:12.958 --> 00:17:16.410
We have such a limited view of mobility
431
00:17:16.410 --> 00:17:19.410
where we think about going from point A to point B,
432
00:17:19.410 --> 00:17:22.110
whereas if you're someone with a mobility concern
433
00:17:22.110 --> 00:17:23.370
that gets a lot more complicated.
434
00:17:23.370 --> 00:17:26.160
It might be going from point A to point Z
435
00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.750
just to get to point B.
436
00:17:27.750 --> 00:17:30.870
Mobility issues, it's not just about transportation.
437
00:17:30.870 --> 00:17:33.990
The layout of a space to get through a building
438
00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:37.590
is just as important from mobility as it is to have a road
439
00:17:37.590 --> 00:17:41.070
to get from your house to your school or your workplace.
440
00:17:41.070 --> 00:17:42.510
If your elevator isn't working,
441
00:17:42.510 --> 00:17:44.310
you might have to wait on your elevator
442
00:17:44.310 --> 00:17:46.680
and then because you've waited on your elevator,
443
00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:48.251
you might now miss your ride.
444
00:17:48.251 --> 00:17:50.580
And because some of the rules and restrictions
445
00:17:50.580 --> 00:17:53.010
that are around some of those ride services,
446
00:17:53.010 --> 00:17:55.650
it might be hours before you can get another ride.
447
00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:57.600
Imagine that feeling that you feel
448
00:17:57.600 --> 00:17:59.760
when the bus is late to pick you up,
449
00:17:59.760 --> 00:18:02.670
just in general, imagine feeling that all day long
450
00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:05.280
because every step of your transportation journey,
451
00:18:05.280 --> 00:18:08.340
your mobility, something could potentially be going wrong.
452
00:18:08.340 --> 00:18:11.220
We don't really think about how mobility
453
00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:14.730
for these communities can be such a compound problem
454
00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:18.180
of so many layers of complexity that it's not as simple
455
00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:20.970
as just get in car, go to place.
456
00:18:20.970 --> 00:18:22.560
Is that a consistent problem
457
00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:24.633
whether you're trying to get around a city like Columbus
458
00:18:24.633 --> 00:18:26.700
or a campus like Ohio State?
459
00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:28.530
Or are there different problems
460
00:18:28.530 --> 00:18:31.680
based on wherever you're trying to get to?
461
00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:33.510
I think that every location
462
00:18:33.510 --> 00:18:35.670
has its own unique set of challenges.
463
00:18:35.670 --> 00:18:37.255
I came from rural Ohio
464
00:18:37.255 --> 00:18:40.386
where some of the accessible pickup systems there,
465
00:18:40.386 --> 00:18:44.460
you had a two hour window that they would pick you up in.
466
00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:47.850
So it was kind of hard to plan your life of not knowing,
467
00:18:47.850 --> 00:18:51.090
like you might be picked up between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM,
468
00:18:51.090 --> 00:18:53.520
you know, that's very hard to predict what time
469
00:18:53.520 --> 00:18:54.360
you're gonna get to work
470
00:18:54.360 --> 00:18:56.400
or the doctor's office or anything like that.
471
00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:58.200
So it feels like it's a whole day affair
472
00:18:58.200 --> 00:18:59.640
to get one place.
473
00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:03.030
Restrictions vary, but the restrictions are really painful.
474
00:19:03.030 --> 00:19:03.930
And that's one of the things
475
00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:05.460
like I'd put a giant spotlight on
476
00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.460
for people that are unaware of some of the challenges.
477
00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:10.680
I am currently visiting a location
478
00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:12.390
when I'm not here in Columbus
479
00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:16.050
that the accessible transportation you have to schedule it
480
00:19:16.050 --> 00:19:18.510
72 hours in advance.
481
00:19:18.510 --> 00:19:20.190
Think about your lives everyone,
482
00:19:20.190 --> 00:19:22.980
do you know what you're doing 72 hours from now?
483
00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:23.813
Right.
484
00:19:23.813 --> 00:19:24.646
Because I typically don't,
485
00:19:24.646 --> 00:19:26.280
and that's equally another exhausting thing
486
00:19:26.280 --> 00:19:29.250
about mobility processes is so often you can show up
487
00:19:29.250 --> 00:19:32.070
to a space and the caretakers of that space be like,
488
00:19:32.070 --> 00:19:34.885
oh yeah, we can do accessibility,
489
00:19:34.885 --> 00:19:37.410
but we need notice in advance.
490
00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:39.420
So it's super painful to not be able
491
00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.950
to be spontaneous with your life.
492
00:19:40.950 --> 00:19:43.950
Think about the realities of the practicalities of,
493
00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:47.820
you know, I want to work a job, I want to get an education.
494
00:19:47.820 --> 00:19:49.560
These systems really have to work together
495
00:19:49.560 --> 00:19:51.511
or you're really out of luck
496
00:19:51.511 --> 00:19:55.619
because, yeah, if I show up at a classroom that turns out,
497
00:19:55.619 --> 00:19:58.980
you know, someone needed two days notice
498
00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:00.420
to set out a ramp for me,
499
00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:02.340
then I'm not getting in my classroom.
500
00:20:02.340 --> 00:20:04.200
And so it can be incredibly limiting,
501
00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.469
almost like a gatekeeper feeling of, oh man,
502
00:20:07.469 --> 00:20:11.310
like I have to plan all of my life in advance all the time.
503
00:20:11.310 --> 00:20:14.580
And like that's not realistic because life happens
504
00:20:14.580 --> 00:20:18.417
and so it can't really treat accessibility within mobility
505
00:20:18.417 --> 00:20:20.220
as an optional add-on
506
00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:23.430
of something we can do only if you plan ahead.
507
00:20:23.430 --> 00:20:25.170
Like that's not the spirit of it.
508
00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:26.250
That's not what it needs to be
509
00:20:26.250 --> 00:20:28.170
and that's not really helpful to anyone.
510
00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:29.640
So, Jen, you had an internship
511
00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:31.590
with the Ohio Department of Transportation.
512
00:20:31.590 --> 00:20:34.050
Can you talk about what that experience was like?
513
00:20:34.050 --> 00:20:37.172
So of all the jobs I've ever worked that I miss the most,
514
00:20:37.172 --> 00:20:40.200
it's my time with ODOT that I miss the most.
515
00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.720
I worked for Drive Ohio, which is a subset
516
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.850
of Ohio Department of Transportation.
517
00:20:44.850 --> 00:20:48.300
I was a consulting intern, focused a lot on mobility
518
00:20:48.300 --> 00:20:50.580
and accessibility during my time there.
519
00:20:50.580 --> 00:20:52.950
It was really remarkable in many, many ways,
520
00:20:52.950 --> 00:20:54.810
but I got to spent a lot of time
521
00:20:54.810 --> 00:20:56.730
talking about my lived experience,
522
00:20:56.730 --> 00:21:00.339
and not just being someone who's coming in as representation
523
00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:02.640
and telling a story about like, hey,
524
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:04.950
transportation isn't great, let's work on it.
525
00:21:04.950 --> 00:21:07.425
But really getting to think about the nitty gritty
526
00:21:07.425 --> 00:21:09.930
of how can we make it better.
527
00:21:09.930 --> 00:21:11.700
The remarkable thing about Drive Ohio
528
00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:14.250
is that they're focused ahead.
529
00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:15.750
So instead of thinking about
530
00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:17.190
where transportation is right now,
531
00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:18.810
thinking about where it's going,
532
00:21:18.810 --> 00:21:22.546
my space within Drive Ohio was to basically make sure
533
00:21:22.546 --> 00:21:24.630
that in everything that we were talking about
534
00:21:24.630 --> 00:21:26.970
in the future of transportation that was throwing out,
535
00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:28.830
we have to think about accessibility
536
00:21:28.830 --> 00:21:31.500
not only being that kind of poster child for we need
537
00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:32.850
to think about accessibility,
538
00:21:32.850 --> 00:21:36.450
but also getting to collaborate and research
539
00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:39.840
and think about how do we actually do that.
540
00:21:39.840 --> 00:21:43.380
And so one of my big pillars was spending a lot of time
541
00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:47.100
talking about how, okay, here's what the landscape
542
00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:49.376
of accessible transportation currently looks like.
543
00:21:49.376 --> 00:21:53.550
That does not mean that it's all good or that it's all bad,
544
00:21:53.550 --> 00:21:57.270
but we can't just like take today's paratransit system
545
00:21:57.270 --> 00:22:00.660
and turn it into an autonomous vehicle and call it a day.
546
00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:01.740
Because in my opinion,
547
00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:03.780
when we think about these many multimodal
548
00:22:03.780 --> 00:22:06.630
forms of transportation, paratransit to me,
549
00:22:06.630 --> 00:22:09.690
is actually the space that has the most room for innovation
550
00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:11.400
because some of these standards
551
00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.100
and things that we set up were set up generations ago
552
00:22:14.100 --> 00:22:16.110
and really haven't moved forward since.
553
00:22:16.110 --> 00:22:19.380
So it's a great opportunity to put on an innovative hat
554
00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:21.750
and really build a transportation future
555
00:22:21.750 --> 00:22:23.190
that suits everybody.
556
00:22:23.190 --> 00:22:25.650
When we talk about building a transportation future,
557
00:22:25.650 --> 00:22:27.450
how important is it to have a wide range
558
00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:30.270
of representation in those discussions?
559
00:22:30.270 --> 00:22:35.270
I cannot say more at all, ever about how important it is
560
00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:38.940
to have representation at a table.
561
00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:40.560
Now, in some ways, it doesn't even matter
562
00:22:40.560 --> 00:22:42.600
what the topic of the table is.
563
00:22:42.600 --> 00:22:44.220
It's that representation matters.
564
00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:45.990
Let me explain what I mean by that a little bit.
565
00:22:45.990 --> 00:22:48.881
So, so often I see when we're talking about a topic
566
00:22:48.881 --> 00:22:53.881
that we bring someone in to tell their story,
567
00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.990
to be the visual representation, to be a token,
568
00:22:57.990 --> 00:23:00.540
to be a figurehead, that's not going to solve
569
00:23:00.540 --> 00:23:02.700
any of the underlying problems.
570
00:23:02.700 --> 00:23:05.190
It is so important when you're solving a topic
571
00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:07.980
like mobility, that you bring stakeholders
572
00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:09.780
from these other social determinants
573
00:23:09.780 --> 00:23:12.330
that factor into mobility, like the education,
574
00:23:12.330 --> 00:23:13.860
housing, et cetera.
575
00:23:13.860 --> 00:23:15.780
But then it's also incredibly important
576
00:23:15.780 --> 00:23:18.540
to bring in community stakeholders like me
577
00:23:18.540 --> 00:23:21.750
to really dig into the problem truly.
578
00:23:21.750 --> 00:23:23.730
Because if you don't have people in the room
579
00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:25.440
that live the experience,
580
00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.060
you might be completely missing the mark
581
00:23:27.060 --> 00:23:29.820
on what the problems behind that you're trying to solve
582
00:23:29.820 --> 00:23:31.170
actually are.
583
00:23:31.170 --> 00:23:33.780
You have, you know, developmental disability,
584
00:23:33.780 --> 00:23:37.242
you have blindness, you have cognitive disabilities,
585
00:23:37.242 --> 00:23:41.010
you have people who are aging, you have temporary injuries,
586
00:23:41.010 --> 00:23:42.584
you have all these different experiences
587
00:23:42.584 --> 00:23:46.110
that you need a voice from all of those.
588
00:23:46.110 --> 00:23:48.900
And you also need to recognize that that is a voice
589
00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:51.210
from all of those, but it's not the only voice
590
00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.340
from all of those, but at least it's somewhere to start
591
00:23:53.340 --> 00:23:56.040
because there is an incredible danger
592
00:23:56.040 --> 00:23:58.770
in only hearing a single story.
593
00:23:58.770 --> 00:24:01.860
But there's incredible power if you have a collective
594
00:24:01.860 --> 00:24:05.572
of those voices and incorporating those voices
595
00:24:05.572 --> 00:24:09.330
into that table on a daily basis.
596
00:24:09.330 --> 00:24:12.780
At every step of the stage of the process basis
597
00:24:12.780 --> 00:24:14.520
is so important
598
00:24:14.520 --> 00:24:18.270
because if you just ask someone what they think at the start
599
00:24:18.270 --> 00:24:21.060
of a project and just ask someone what they think at the end
600
00:24:21.060 --> 00:24:23.370
of a project, it kind of just becomes
601
00:24:23.370 --> 00:24:25.920
like performance theater that you're looking for them
602
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:27.300
to be like, oh, this is great.
603
00:24:27.300 --> 00:24:30.060
At both ends of like, yes, that's a good problem.
604
00:24:30.060 --> 00:24:31.530
Yes, that's a good solution,
605
00:24:31.530 --> 00:24:35.490
but does it really in the end actually solve any problems?
606
00:24:35.490 --> 00:24:37.650
One thing you've said to me in the past
607
00:24:37.650 --> 00:24:41.550
that really I think people need to think about
608
00:24:41.550 --> 00:24:44.940
is if you're able bodied at 30,
609
00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:48.240
you may not be that way at a different age.
610
00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:51.900
And so maybe people should be thinking about this
611
00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:53.340
a little bit more, correct?
612
00:24:53.340 --> 00:24:56.010
Yes, I could not be a bigger proponent of the idea
613
00:24:56.010 --> 00:24:57.480
that accessibility is for everyone
614
00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:00.600
because it really is from your first day to your last day,
615
00:25:00.600 --> 00:25:02.430
at some point in your life,
616
00:25:02.430 --> 00:25:06.210
you're going to have mobility issues.
617
00:25:06.210 --> 00:25:08.040
Now that might be because of a disability,
618
00:25:08.040 --> 00:25:10.260
because of a chronic illness, because of an injury,
619
00:25:10.260 --> 00:25:11.970
or because of something else entirely.
620
00:25:11.970 --> 00:25:13.500
But it's going to affect you.
621
00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:15.450
And if it doesn't affect you directly,
622
00:25:15.450 --> 00:25:18.000
it's going to affect someone you care about.
623
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.510
And it's very easy to not think about these issues
624
00:25:21.510 --> 00:25:23.580
because you don't experience them.
625
00:25:23.580 --> 00:25:25.830
I know for me, like there are some chronic illness issues
626
00:25:25.830 --> 00:25:28.500
that I never thought about until I lived it,
627
00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:31.740
but it's so important to invest into
628
00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:34.110
because it really does affect us all.
629
00:25:34.110 --> 00:25:36.120
I've always kinda used the analogy that suits well
630
00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:39.570
for mobility about, you know, we have roads
631
00:25:39.570 --> 00:25:41.880
and we all use roads in different ways,
632
00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:44.520
but it helps us all get where we need to go.
633
00:25:44.520 --> 00:25:47.130
And so that's what's so critically important
634
00:25:47.130 --> 00:25:48.840
when we think about these things
635
00:25:48.840 --> 00:25:53.520
because like you are not investing into mobility
636
00:25:53.520 --> 00:25:56.790
or accessibility for someone you've never met.
637
00:25:56.790 --> 00:25:59.100
You're investing in Intuit for your future,
638
00:25:59.100 --> 00:26:01.860
for your family's future, for your friend's future.
639
00:26:01.860 --> 00:26:04.560
It absolutely affects someone that you care about.
640
00:26:04.560 --> 00:26:05.880
This has been really enlightening.
641
00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:07.547
Thank you so much for doing this.
642
00:26:07.547 --> 00:26:09.797
It was really my pleasure, Ross, thank you.
643
00:26:11.356 --> 00:26:14.023
(upbeat music)
644
00:26:26.190 --> 00:26:29.220
Getting from point A to point B shouldn't have to involve
645
00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.350
a point C, H, or Z.
646
00:26:31.350 --> 00:26:32.760
Everyone should be able to make it
647
00:26:32.760 --> 00:26:34.290
to their appointments on time.
648
00:26:34.290 --> 00:26:36.960
Grocery shop when they need to or want to,
649
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:39.540
easily connect with others in their community.
650
00:26:39.540 --> 00:26:41.430
Go to a park and enjoy the scenery
651
00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:42.960
whenever they feel like it.
652
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:44.970
Life is hard enough as it is,
653
00:26:44.970 --> 00:26:47.880
tack on mobility and transportation issues to that
654
00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:50.550
and things get exponentially more challenging.
655
00:26:50.550 --> 00:26:52.320
Thank goodness there are those out there
656
00:26:52.320 --> 00:26:54.330
working to remove these hardship variables
657
00:26:54.330 --> 00:26:55.470
for our communities.
658
00:26:55.470 --> 00:26:58.290
Working to connect one another on a simpler scale,
659
00:26:58.290 --> 00:27:02.133
striving to bring point A just that much closer to point B.
660
00:27:03.109 --> 00:27:05.692
(upbeat music)
661
00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:16.410
Now at Ohio State is produced
662
00:27:16.410 --> 00:27:19.020
by the Ohio State University's Office of Marketing
663
00:27:19.020 --> 00:27:20.430
and Communications.
664
00:27:20.430 --> 00:27:25.430
For more information, visit us at go.osu.edu/now.
665
00:27:26.580 --> 00:27:28.440
I'm your host, Jacob Carozza.
666
00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.490
Thanks for listening.