Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Morgan’s, the umbrella name for the nonprofit that provides ultra-accessibility to several of its entities, from Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center to Morgan’s Sports, continues with its mission to improve the quality of life for individuals of all ages and all abilities. It is helping businesses, organizations, and government agencies create spaces for individuals with disabilities.
Vincenzo “Enzo” Piscopo has been named the president of Morgan’s Inclusion Institute. He said the Institute provides training for San Antonio’s businesses, organizations, and government agencies.
“So, we provide disability awareness training, disability etiquette training, and then, you know, any other training that we might need to give to their staff, right?” said Piscopo. “So ... because, again, one of the things that it's extremely important for us is that it’s not one solution fits them all. You know, we might be able to develop a specific training.”
Piscopo himself is also a disabled individual who relies on a wheelchair, so he is fully aware that fully inclusive means many things to several disabled individuals.
“The needs of a person with an invisible disability might be completely different from the needs of the person with a visible disability, right? Physical disabilities are very different from intellectual disabilities.”
Piscopo said the institute aims to go beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said though the ADA has provided a means for accessible venues, it does not guarantee the same experience for all, especially those who are in wheelchairs, and that’s something that needs to change. He recounted his experience in a past visit to an ADA-accessible ballfield with his son.
“Well, when we went to baseball games, I was able to go to the baseball games because there was an accessible area, but I could not be with him and his friends,” said Piscopo. “So I was, in a way, put aside on the accessible area, but it didn't allow me to have the full experience that I wanted to have with my son, because my son wanted to sit behind the plate with his friends, but I couldn't choose where to sit. People chose where I could sit.”
Piscopo says Morgan’s Inclusion Institute would like to help venues provide not only accessibility, but experiences individuals with disabilities can enjoy without sacrificing isolation from family and friends.
Piscopo wants to implement ultra-accessible businesses not only in San Antonio, but also worldwide.
Training is available for companies, organizations, government entities, and anyone who integrates accessibility into work and personal spaces.
The Inclusion Institute is currently housed inside the Multi-Assistance Center building while institute facilities are being built.
