The Equal Access Project
The Equal Access Project started in 2016 when we partnered with organizations that serve individuals with disabilities in order to offer free storytelling workshops. Partners included IndependenceFirst, Vision Forward, MCFI, broadscope disability services, Life Navigators, and SE Wisconsin Aspergers Empowerment Meet up. The project was supported in part by a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin. In 2017 we received a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board to support the continuation of Equal Access Project. Read about the initial project goals here.
Since then, Ex Fabula has worked to further increase the accessibility of our programming. Learn more about the accommodations we have been able to provide here. We continue learning, so please contact us with additional suggestions!
In December 2022, WisPact Foundation granted us funding to expand on these efforts and develop new ways to serve individuals with disabilities. The project goals for 2022/23 are:
- Lower access barriers to Ex Fabula programming for individuals with disabilities.
- Help individuals with disabilities to increase their storytelling skill and confidence.
- Amplify the stories of individuals with disabilities.
Here’s what Zach Lifton, an Ex Fabula volunteer, had to say about the project after assisting a teller from the Equal Access Project, Dan Lococo, at the 2018 New Year Spectacular:
Dan Lococo on stage at The New Year Spectacular
“While I know the goal of the Equal Access Project is to make storytelling more accessible to those with disabilities, I want to let you know that an additional [positive] consequence is that it exposes “able-bodied” volunteers like myself to a whole different community and life experience–and thus a whole differentunderstanding of folks beyond the bubble of my every day world.”