Disabilities Commission Launches Awareness Campaign

It is a familiar scene in shopping centers in Buffalo Grove: While abandoned shopping carts drift across the parking lots, cars and shoppers maneuver around them.

For people who use wheelchairs or walkers, the shopping carts can create an obstacle. That's why members of the Buffalo Grove Commission for Residents with Disabilities have created the Disability Awareness Campaign. Through a series of posters and letters sent to local businesses, the campaign informs the public of issues affecting people with disabilities.

The first poster reminds shoppers to return carts to the store or to a shopping corral. It also advises shoppers to offer assistant to someone who is unable to return their cart.

“If you have a car with a ramp that is used to get someone in a wheelchair in and out of the vehicle, the carts can get in your way,” Gerilyn Miller-Brown explained. “If you’re already out, it can be difficult to maneuver around the carts with a walker or a wheelchair.”

Miller-Brown is a member of the Commission, and is also the campaign's chairwoman.

Organizers plan to address other issues in future posters, such as keeping the handicapped parking spots clear of snow and to avoid sitting in seats intended for people with disabilities.

“We want to change the posters quarterly, and to change the look of the posters so that people don’t think it’s the same poster,” Miller-Brown said. "We also wanted to partner with businesses in the area so that the public can see the posters."

After the posters have been displayed for several months, “People stop looking at them after awhile,” Marty Sussman, a member of the campaign, explained. “If we change them every few months, people look forward to seeing the new posters and look for them.”

“We want to bring awareness to these issues, but with a positive campaign,” campaign member Donna Garfield said. “We’re not trying to scold people. We just want to raise awareness for (issues) people wouldn’t consider, and not that they’d do it on purpose. We are just asking the community to take responsibility. Everyone can chip in."

Businesses in Buffalo Grove have been requested to display the posters in their windows. While members of the commission have received pushback from some of the stores, many of the businesses that were approached agreed to display the signs.

“The businesses don’t want to turn off their customers, but the public needs to be made aware of the issues affecting people with disabilities,” Sussman said.

In a recent commission meeting, Chairman Rick Kahen said, “You guys did a great job (on the campaign).”

is one business that displays the poster reminding shoppers to return carts to the stores. “We don’t have carts, but we have to watch out for handicapped people,” Pete Panayiotou, owner of The Continental, said. “We need more handicapped spots in the parking lot. I’ve noticed a problem with parking."

The Continental is located at The Plaza of Buffalo Grove; the shopping center includes a grocery store.

“People go shopping, and when they’re finished, they push their carts over to an empty spot instead of putting the cart back in the corral," Panayiotou said. He added that he and his employees have returned empty shopping carts to the corrals.