蜜桃影视

This is part of our Community Cultivator series, which highlights how innovators across all sectors build and sustain global communities from the ground up.

People with disabilities are everywhere. The World Health Organization and notes that almost everyone is likely to experience some form of disability at some point in life. And yet, more than 20 years after passage of the , our society still fails to include the disabled in the places we live, work and play.

It鈥檚 the play part that motivates Gordon Hartman, founder of Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland in San Antonio, Texas. Named for his daughter, the first 鈥淯ltra-Accessible鈩⑩�� theme park in the world, and other fully inclusive ventures, offers experiences for everybody.

鈥淎t Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland Camp, an outgrowth of , you can go on a zipline that’s 11 stories high, even if you’re in a wheelchair or on a breathing tube or on a feeding tube,鈥� Hartman promises. 鈥淵ou can go on a challenge course 22 feet above the ground, even if you’re blind or have cognitive delay or if you鈥檙e in a wheelchair.鈥�

Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland and the next-door Morgan鈥檚 Inspiration Island splash park offer free admission to people with disabilities, but the adventure is for anyone and everyone ready for fun. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not special-needs parks,鈥� insists Hartman. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e parks of inclusion, and that makes a big difference.鈥�

Hartman鈥檚 vision for ultra-accessibility is growing beyond the attractions of Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland. This fall, his Morgan鈥檚 Inclusion Initiative, which is the planning and coordinating organization for the entire Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland 鈥渇amily鈥� of endeavors, will cut the ribbon on a new kind of facility to bring a multitude of services under one roof for those with special needs. It鈥檚 called the Multi-Assistance Center at Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland, or The MAC. And he鈥檚 reaffirming a commitment to amplifying the voices of the community he鈥檚 dedicated to serving.

鈥淭hey’re not at the table enough,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey don’t have enough of a voice and that’s what we’re working on very hard to change.鈥�

San Antonio Roots

鈥淭his has always been my town,鈥� Hartman says. Born in 1964, he grew up across the street from a Catholic church, becoming an altar boy and attending Catholic grade school and a high school seminary. A product of the , he developed a lifelong dedication to serving others. He also had a passion for business, and starting at 18, he worked as a builder and a land developer, later adding insurance, mortgages and titles to his portfolio.

About 12 months after he and his wife Maggie had their first child, Morgan, it became clear that Morgan wasn鈥檛 meeting cognitive and physical development milestones. And then one day while on vacation at a hotel swimming pool, Morgan approached two other children to play with them and their ball, but she was upset when the kids grabbed the ball and left her behind.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we started thinking, Where can we take Morgan that would be a place where she would feel acceptance, and could play and do other things like everybody else?,鈥� Hartman recalls. “What if we did something where those with and without special needs could join together and play?”

He sold his homebuilding business and poured the proceeds鈥攁s well as two decades of building experience鈥攊nto Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland, which has welcomed over 2 million guests in its 12 years of operation. The park鈥檚 success is constantly spurring new attractions, most recently the splash park, a sports complex and a camp that offers summer-camp-like experiences year-round. Morgan herself, now 28 years old, loves all of it. 鈥淚 get up early in the morning,鈥� Hartman declares. 鈥淚 work until late at night, and I love every moment of it. I have more desire and more energy now than I’ve ever had.鈥�

The Next Wonder

As Morgan鈥檚 Wonderland grows and welcomes more guests each year from all over the world, Hartman expresses appreciation for the way San Antonio has supported his vision. 鈥淭his community came together,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do it by myself.鈥�

As the opening of The MAC approaches, he recognizes that the community鈥檚 engagement matters more than ever. Over 30 community-based organizations will be housed (rent-free) under one roof, all coordinating electronically and collaborating in real life to help children and adults with special needs.

As Hartman explains, The MAC will conduct intake interviews and then assign clients to a navigator, who will focus not only on therapeutic issues but also the social determinants of health. (Disabled people are disproportionately affected by food and housing insecurity, among other .) Using a specially developed electronic platform, the navigators will help MAC clients connect to the right services.

Hartman describes a hypothetical mother of three, including one autistic child. 鈥淪he needs help maneuvering through the insurance issues and Medicaid and so on. Well, if she has to tell her story over and over, if she has to take many days off of work and can’t do it all in one place, then the opportunity for her child to get the help they need is going to be very limited. And many times, she’s going to give up. So what we’re going to try to do is make that as efficient and seamless as possible.鈥�

Once The MAC is fully operational, it will serve thousands with physical and cognitive special needs.

鈥淔or too long,鈥� Hartman states, 鈥渄isabled people have been set to the side and denied the full opportunity to thrive. Given that opportunity, they can and will do so much more.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.