LYNN — After receiving a $24,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Health to address the needs of disabled residents, the Lynn Public Health Department is working alongside the Commission on Disability and the Disability Resource Center to study and work to address the challenges faced by Lynn’s disabled residents.
Public Health Coordinator Norris Guscott said that throughout 2024, the department will seek feedback from disabled residents to draft a list of priority issues the funding might address.
“The data we’re collecting is coming from the disability community in Lynn — they’re going to be identifying the priorities, what programs or projects they need to feel included. That could be inclusionary trails that can support wheelchairs, that could be changing stations, it could be a variety of different programs and projects,” Guscott said. “What’s important but this is it will be a target population — folks with lived experiences — that are really selecting what projects happen.”
In the second year of the three-year grant, the Public Health Department will assess the data collected during the first year in order to isolate and prioritize particular projects before the department works alongside the state DOH to implement the particular project or projects during the third year of the grant program.
Guscott said that, unlike similar grants, this particular program is tailored directly to the viewpoints and needs of those living with disabilities.
“There are very few programs like this that exist, where there’s a different pipeline from the disability community, folks with experiences, to the policymakers and the program makers. There’s that direct link,” Guscott said. “I’m excited that we’ll be able to tailor this grant’s project and future grant projects around that.”
