In this episode, Beth Golik shares a social media post that could challenge our churches when it comes to meeting one of the most basic needs of some individuals and families in the disability community.
Listen in your favorite podcast app!
Quick Links:
Perkimon Valley Brewery Post about Inclusive Bathrooms
The Tale of the Shrinking Toilets by Ryan Wolfe
Potty Talk Disability Ministry Video Roundtable
Transcript:
Hi friends. I’m Beth Golik, one of the co-hosts of Key Ministry: The Podcast. Well, get ready, because today’s episode is going to feature potty talk.
A couple of months ago, I stumbled across a Facebook post from a brewery in Pennsylvania.
You might be wondering why in the world I’m going to feature a brewery’s social media post on a disability ministry podcast. I hope this has grabbed your attention just in case the title of this episode didn’t!
The Facebook post was a response to questions this brewery had received about their fully accessible restroom with universal-sized changing table. Here’s the post from Perkimon Valley Brewery in Green Lane, Pennsylvania dated May 24, 2022.
We’ve been asked multiple times if our family has anybody who needs a fully accessible bathroom due to adult-sized changing table.
The answer: No
The next question is almost always: Then, why do you have one here?
Us: Because there are people who do and they shouldn’t have to leave having fun just because they don’t have a place where they can go for their bathroom needs.
Our accessible bathroom has a changing table that fits infants to adult. It’s motorized to lower and raise. We have quiet soap dispensers and regular paper towel holder, ie no blowers. Sound can be extremely startling and actually painful for some people with hyperacusis. Our toilet is fully accessible with no automatic flushing. We have a sliding pocket door with magnetic locking door handle that does not require the ability to twist or turn a nob [sic]. Pocket doors are easier for people using a mobility device to open. AND it looks nice! Which is proof that accessibility doesn’t have to look clinical. It can be fashionable and functional for all people, all ages, and all mobility.
All of this cost us about $10k to build. All of it was #WorthEveryPenny and the planning involved.
Do you know that while we were deciding how wide we wanted the door, (ADA could use an updating- Their measurements are so narrow for people who use wheelchairs and walkers that it is a project unto itself to squeeze through their compliance standard of 32 inches without scraping your knuckles on the doorjamb) Tom went up to Professional Pharmacy and rented a wheelchair so, we could test how accessible our space was.
If you want to know anything more about our bathroom like where we got the changing table or door hardware, who we got to sketch out the blueprint for it, etc. just pm us!
Trust us when we say that there NEEDS to be more of these available everywhere! It’s 2022 and we shouldn’t have to explain our accessible bathroom as much as we do. It should be a common and normal everyday experience.
We’ve included a link to the original post in the show notes which you can find at keyministry.org/podcast.
Wouldn’t it be incredible if churches had the same attitude as this brewery when it comes to accessibility and dignity for those whose bathroom needs include maneuvering a wheelchair or using a changing table?
Recently Key Ministry hosted a discussion on this very topic. It was part of our monthly disability ministry video roundtable which is a Zoom for ministry leaders covering timely topics as we seek to advance the disability ministry movement. This particular roundtable was called Potty Talk: Toileting Policies and Procedures in Disability Ministry. We did talk about the various policies our churches have when it comes to assisting students in the restroom, but the bulk of our conversation had to do with accessible restrooms and adult-sized (or universal-sized) changing tables.
One of the participants on the roundtable, who is also the caregiving parent of a young adult individual who requires diapering care, shared her family’s experience. The message that is conveyed when a church has a restroom that meets the basic needs of a family like this one is that they are valued and accepted. The church is saying, we want you here. And, unfortunately, the opposite message is true when there isn’t a space to meet this family’s basic toileting needs in a safe and dignified manner.
If you are wondering how to broach this subject with your church, you could start with a little humor.
My buddy Ryan Wolfe -- who has been a guest on this podcast -- has authored a book: The Tale of the Shrinking Toilets. Visit shrinkingtoilets.com to check it out and to access a grant application for a universal-sized changing table.
You could also begin the conversations with your church leadership by sharing testimonials from individuals and families who will be able to more fully participate in the life of your church with this basic need met.
After all, you don’t know what you don’t know. So maybe your role is to help educate church leadership about this need.
You could take a listen to the disability ministry video roundtable where we discussed this very issue.
We helped each other brainstorm how to get creative to tackle some of the obstacles posed by existing physical space limitations. You can get the link to that roundtable here. Also, please know that you are invited to join our roundtables each month. Sign up to get the link at keyministry.org/events.
I hope this potty talk podcast has given you something new to consider or has encouraged you to advocate for a universal-sized changing table at your church. If you’ve found this helpful, please share it with a friend or colleague. And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss hearing from Sandra Peoples, Catherine Boyle, Lamar Hardwick, or me on Key Ministry: The Podcast. And on that note, gotta go!
