Options for Independence has always been lucky to have a great group of local advocates, supporters and volunteers who work on behalf of people with disabilities within our service area, that includes Seneca County. Locally one of those great advocates has been our former board of directors vice chair, Gloria Paris, who for more than a decade has always been there for Options, whether she was on our board or not.

From time to time she will alert us to access issues that she thinks need to be addressed to increase access for people with disabilities. Sometimes she will go directly to the source and personally ask them to make changes. Take for example her noticing that the pool lift at the Athletics Center at the New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls was not safe and was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The existing lift did not allow those with mobility issues to utilize the pool.

She looked into whether the lift was repairable or what other options were available. She researched lifts for in-ground pools and sent for brochures and videos. She finally determined that a new lift would better serve the needs of those who used the pool, whether the disabled, elderly or part of such structured activities as the “Rusty Hinges” program. That program helps those with limited mobility because of arthritis and those recovering from strokes and surgeries.

Once she identified a lift, she made the calls that were necessary to find out if the college would even look at taking out the old lift and installing a new one. After getting a confirmation that the college would indeed be willing to take out the old lift, she was told that they didn't have the financing for a new one in their capital budget. Not one to give up easily, Paris started to look at other financing options.

With her long standing relationship with Sen. Michael Nozzolio (before a career in politics, he acted in one of her productions as a community player) she looked to see if he could find some way to finance the approximately $4,000 lift. Since this would benefit the disabled and elderly and be used to maintain good health he made sure that the state earmarked the necessary money though a New York State Member Item.

Once the amount was allocated, Paris also acted somewhat like a “clerk of the works.” She made sure the lift was purchased, installed and that the payments from Albany were applied for.

On June 1, Options' outgoing executive director, Guy Thomas Cosentino, incoming executive director, Tracy L. Murphy, and access advocate, Dan Schuster, met with Paris and Nozzolio at the pool to look at how the installed lift works. They were also able to see a couple of people in the college's “Rusty Hinges” program use the lift.

Now, if you want to use the pool lift at the Chiropractic College, you can thank Gloria Paris, who made the calls and did the work necessary to increase access.

In 2002, Options gave her one of our Advocate of the Year awards. Instead of resting on her laurels, this volunteer extraordinaire, continues to make a difference.

Amanda Derby is the housing advocate for Options for

Independence, located at 75 Genesee St., Auburn. She can be reached at 255-3447