‘Out & About’ to improve lives

Victorian aged and community care provider, Villa Maria, is gearing up to launch an innovative iPhone app set to make a huge difference in the way people with disability or mobility issues and their carers access Melbourne venues and events.

The free Out & About – Accessing your community app will be released for download at an exciting community event hosted by the aged and disability services organisation on Sunday, 1 December at Albert Park. 

Villa Maria executive manager of marketing, Rebecca Ryan, said Out & About will fill what has been labelled a “glaring gap” in the local market for app initiatives to assist people with disability or mobility issues.

“The Out & About app is a location based tool featuring venues and events throughout metropolitan Melbourne based on their accessibility features.  Users can filter their desired criteria including location, distance and accessibility options and venues of interest such as restaurants, shopping centres, museums, sports centres, parks and playgrounds etc to find the best option to suit their needs,” Ms Ryan explained.

“While there are plenty of websites out there featuring this type of information, there appears to be nothing locally available in the easy-to-use app form, which really has become a convenient way for people to locate information,” she added.

For many people, the simple task of heading out to their local library or park to catch up with friends or take some time out for themselves, can take an enormous amount of time, effort and planning.

Usually they must call ahead to find out if the venue has accessible parking, a wheelchair ramp, non-slip surfaces, accessible toilets with handrails, or investigate how close it is to public transport. 

“We feel that people should not be disadvantaged because of their accessibility needs, and hope that this app will go a long way to making outings easier for people with disability or mobility issues and their carers,” she said.

A recent review by the Australian Network on Disability (AND) revealed there were only two home grown apps that assisted people with a disability, though none where a business could register its accessibility features, or included accessible information on  popular museums or concert venues.

The review called for an app that mapped not only accessibility of public infrastructure but also of major department stores and supermarkets, which may “up the ante” in terms of making these businesses accessible to all.

The app is also interactive for users, allowing them to write a review of a venue they have visited which will then be visible to other users, helping them to determine if the venue has the accessibility features they need. 

“As I’m sure people can appreciate, populating this app is a huge and ongoing task. We hope to receive continued support from the public following its launch to ensure the app is filled with as much up to date information as possible, making it the best tool available for people with mobility issues and their carers to access relevant information from the one place.”

The launch of the app will run in time for International Day of People with a Disability on 1 December 2013.

If you would like a sneak peek of the app, or to suggest a venue or event, please visit www.outandaboutapp.com.au.