State Parks Mark Disability Awareness Month

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida State Parks are celebrating Disability Awareness throughout October.

The Division of Recreation and Parks has committed to ensure its facilities, programs and services are accessible to and usable by all people, including those with disabilities.

Access for All, the Division's commitment to providing resource-based recreation to everyone, is the theme for October’s state park celebration.

‘The Division’s goal is to provide equal access to all facilities and programs within the state park system,’ Florida State Parks Director Mike Bullock said in a news release. ‘Accessibility awareness training for staff members, nature trail assessments and park facility evaluations are part of the Division’s efforts toward Access for All.’

On Disability Mentoring Day, Oct. 17, DEP's Florida State Parks are partnering with the Florida Statewide Disability Mentoring Day Planning Committee which includes The Able Trust, the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Florida Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged and Volunteer Florida for a job shadowing opportunity to mentor individuals with a disability.

‘During the month of October, I challenge Floridians to become more aware of disability in their community: whether by hiring a person with a disability, getting to know someone with a disability more closely, or simply researching a particular disability to learn more about it,’ said Jane Johnson, Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. ‘Your life will be enriched by the experience.’

Disability Mentoring Day, sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), began in 1999 to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, celebrated every October. A national partnership between the AAPD and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, Disability Mentoring Day provides employers with opportunities to help mentees with disabilities build confidence about their own employability, share firsthand job experiences, develop lasting relationships and gain access to a pool of new emerging talent.

Other accessible and inclusive opportunities in state parks include: Florida State Park.

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