Realizing this vision requires a concerted effort to create barrier-free communities for all people. A playground that allows children of all abilities to play side by side is the perfect start, so Liberty Mutual Insurance contributed $1 million to the creation of Boston's first fully- inclusive playground.
"It's important to have inclusive opportunities so families can stay together and have social interactions," said Dianne Lescinskas, a Boston parent who serves on the board of an inclusion school and works with Best Buddies – a nonprofit that creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "Liberty Mutual has really sent a message that all children are important. Liberty is thinking on a larger scale, with a vision of what an opportunity like this means for these children's future."
Located at Charlestown Navy Yard – three miles from Liberty's Boston headquarters – the playground was designed so every piece of equipment is accessible to children of any ability level. Most playgrounds are not inclusive. Those that are typically feature just one or two pieces of equipment available to kids with disabilities, and often these are separated from the rest.
"With this equipment, the accessible entry point is the only entry point," said Cheri Ruane, the landscape architect who designed the site. "It's about designing to a standard that elevates people's expectations of what's possible." "Today, our small, yet honorable guests will break in a remarkable place – a place where children of all backgrounds and abilities can play together; a place where children will find great joy, learning that they are all capable, even if differently-abled; and a place where children will create their earliest – and in some cases, most formative – friendships," said David Long, chairman and CEO.