Woman designs spaces for disabled people in public spaces
Tarryn Tomlinson is promoting the right to free movement for disabled people.
A lot of public spaces don't always accommodate people with disabilities.
Tarryn Tomlinson's life took a turn when she developed rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 18.
This interfered with how she used to enjoy her life.
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“I developed rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 18 and within a year and a half I needed to use a wheelchair,” she told Beautiful News.
Using a wheelchair made her realise how a lot of people living with disabilities suffer when it comes to how infrastructure is built.
“I stopped taking life for granted when I was forced to change my perspective,” she told the publication.
Today, as an accessibility and inclusion auditor for hotels and public spaces, Tomlinson ensures that places are built in a way that accommodate the disabled.
“Something as small as a single step stands in the way of someone with a disability from gaining access,” she said.
“The action I’m taking is to ensure that people like me are not excluded from living their fullest lives,” she told the publication.
However, Tomlinson said her work is not easy.
“The work I do isn’t always easy because it’s about convincing people that their services are actually not up to standard,” she told Beautiful News.
She says the public needs to stop giving sympathy to people living with disabilities and make facilities that will enable them to exercise their right to freedom of movement.
“We are independent. We are people. We have the right to free movement," she told the publication.
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