PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has added another distinction to its list of “firsts.” It is the first city in the world to be certified as “sensory inclusive.”
The designation indicates at least half the workforce has been trained in awareness and methods to address sensory processing disabilities caused by autism, post-traumatic stress or other conditions.
For instance, the Eagles and the Phillies are certified as sensory-inclusive. The Eagles even have a sensory room, an accommodation they started five years ago that has now been adopted by 17 NFL teams. Team mascots Swoop and the Phillie Phanatic were at the city’s announcement on Tuesday.
Ryan Hammond, executive director of the Eagles Autism Foundation, said the team trained about 1,000 employees.
The city has trained 16,000 employees, or 70% of the city workforce, across every single department.
“To have our city step up because we want to be inclusive — because we want to open the doors and the possibilities for families and our residents to experience all the beautiful things this city has to offer — is just amazing,” Hammond said.
It’s a whole new level, says Uma Srivastava, executive director of the nonprofit KultureCity.
“Never in my wildest dreams — or, I would even say in my team’s wildest dreams — did we think we would be here celebrating the world’s first sensory-inclusive-certified city,” Srivastava said.
KultureCity works to improve accessibility, providing training and tools to organizations large and small that interact with the general public. The training draws attention to the needs of people who may become overwhelmed by sensory stimulation and shows how to take steps to ease that discomfort.
One such tool is noise-canceling headphones for large-scale events.
It’s a significant achievement for the city which, as Mayor Jim Kenney noted, has the highest rate of disabilities of any large U.S. city.
“We’re ensuring that we address accessibility and access across city services for all of our residents,” Kenney said.