JeffCo Community Playground aims to create inclusive space for children of all abilities
$1.8M project planned for Jim Wood Park
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STEUBENVILLE -- Eliminating barriers that prevent children with disabilities from interacting with other children is the goal of a project planned for the city’s West End.
That mission is driving efforts to raise the money needed to bring the JeffCo Community Playground to Jim Wood Park.
When completed, the accessible playground will provide an inclusive space where people of all abilities can play, connect and thrive, said Mike Zinno, superintendent of the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
“That’s the type of playground that we want to bring to Steubenville,” Zinno said while speaking during Wednesday’s meeting of the Steubenville Rotary Club at the JeffCo Event Center. “And this is not just for Steubenville -- this is going to be a playground that draws from our Tri-State Area.”
The $1.8 million project is a collaboration among JEFFCO Services Inc., the city of Steubenville and its Department of Parks and Recreation, and Unlimited Play, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in St. Peters, Missouri, that partners with Little Tikes Commercial to help plan, design and build fully accessible playgrounds.
“Kids with disabilities cannot participate on the typical playground,” Zinno said. “This will allow children of all abilities to play together, which is very important for everybody involved.”
According to the project’s fundraising brochure, there are few fully accessible playgrounds in the United States built to serve the 43 million Americans who have disabilities. Having a facility available to residents throughout the region will help build stronger relationships among families.
“A couple of years ago, we watched a video about a family that had felt unseen,” said Cookie West, community and public relations specialist for the developmental disabilities department. “A lot of families with individuals who are differently-abled don’t necessarily have the opportunities to get out within the community to create connections with other families and build villages. So, they will be able to get out.
“It will be a family affair for families who have individuals with disabilities,” she continued. “They will be able to meet up and connect with other families who live in the community. I think that, within itself, will increase the quality of life.”
While the exact location within the park has not been determined, Zinno said the design work has been completed. The playground will be fully fenced in, with the centerpiece being a towering structure designed to resemble a fort. Elevated panels designed to resemble treetops will provide shade.
Zinno explained the design will allow children who use wheelchairs to navigate the entire area and reach the highest point of the playground. There will be a shared area for younger users and two large swing sets equipped with swings to accommodate children who use wheelchairs as well as those who do not. The surface will feature rubberized material and turf to minimize the possibility of serious injury.
“One thing that’s important for the playground is that kids who get overwhelmed and need a quiet space to kind of calm down and cool down will have a quiet room,” Zinno said. “A child can go there to play with different things that might be in there and self-regulate if they get over-stimulated.”
Zinno added that the playground will feature graduated complexity.
“This is not just for kids with disabilities -- this is for all kids,” he said. “All kids are going to experience what they can to their ability.”
West said the playground will also benefit families who have children with and without disabilities.
“We have families who have children without disabilities,” West said. “It was difficult to take their children or their family to the park, because one child could play and the other would not be able to. This is going to be an opportunity for the whole family to be engaged.”
When asked about protecting the playground from vandalism, Zinno said plans call for the installation of 24-hour cameras and adequate lighting. The playground’s location will be close enough to the developmental disabilities facility on John Scott Highway that department employees will be able to provide maintenance and repairs, he added.
The department’s trailer, which features fully accessible restrooms and lifts for children and adults, also will be permanently located near the playground.
The goal is to privately finance the playground, Zinno said. He added that JeffCo Services Inc. has committed to matching contributions up to $250,000.
Zinno said JeffCo Services was formed after the JeffCo Workshop was privatized. The workshop had its own board and operated as its own organization, he explained. JeffCo Services has remained in operation as a way to provide funding for individuals with developmental disabilities, mostly adults, and help them live as independently as possible.
So far, more than $36,000 has been raised, and the project has received a $25,000 grant from the Charles M. and Thelma M. Pugliese Charitable Foundation. With the match, that contribution will become $122,000.
Other commitments include $5,000 pledged by members of the Rotary Club during Wednesday’s meeting. Members of the Steubenville Lions Club have agreed to purchase a piece of equipment valued at $9,700, Zinno said, while the Steubenville Women’s Club donated $25,000 when it dissolved earlier this year.
The project is expected to benefit families and individuals beyond Steubenville and Jefferson County, drawing visitors from West Virginia and Pennsylvania as well, Zinno and West said.
For information, contact Zinno at mzinno@jcbdd.com, Tracey McMannamon at McMannamon@cityofsteubenville.us or Julie Hoffman at julie@unlimitedplay.org.
“When I think of support, I think of it as the entire community -- schools, organizations, families, churches and businesses,” West said. “We can’t be afraid of things that might happen. This is an investment not only in families now, but in families still to come. If we get the community to invest, they will take ownership of it, and that’s what we want.
“We are excited. We know it is a large task, but if everyone pitches in, I think we will be able to accomplish it,” she added. “It will change the community as a whole, because there will be much more laughter, and many more smiles. When you are able to smile and laugh and look at life in a happier way, I think that will benefit the community as a whole.”