LILA helps disabled navigate Web and daily life
By Jennifer Kelleher - Copley News Service

April 10, 2001

Navigating around Los Angeles can be a daunting task for anyone. But it was a
lot tougher for Martha Alfaro when she moved here from Missouri in 1987. 

It took Alfaro, a paraplegic, six hours just to find transportation capable
of taking her from Los Angeles International Airport to a university less
than five minutes away. 

Today, getting around Los Angeles for Alfaro and other disabled people is a
lot easier thanks to a new Web site called Living Independently In Los
Angeles (LILA). 

Launched last month by UCLA's Advanced Policy Institute, the site
(http://lila.ucla.edu/) aims to help disabled people lead more independent
lives. 

Employing state-of-the-art mapping technology, LILA shows users the location
of everything from nearby service agencies to bicycle shops that repair
wheelchairs. 

Beaches and trails that are accessible to disabled people are also
pinpointed, along with access points and ramps in government buildings. 

Alan Toy, the site's project director, said he hopes LILA will help ease the
relatively isolated lifestyle that many disabled people lead and encourage
them to use the Internet, which can be a particularly valuable tool for those
who have difficulty leaving their homes. 

"My dream is that it will create communities rather than isolate people," as
the Internet is often said to do, he said. 

Model for others

Toy and other supporters of the site also think it will become a model for
other cities around the region. There are about 2 million disabled people in
Los Angeles County and 250,000 in San Diego County, according to the
estimates by experts on the disabled. 

In San Diego, some people are already paying attention. 

Bud Sayles, executive director of the Access Center of San Diego, an
independent living center in Hillcrest, said he's "really interested" in
seeing how the LILA site works out. 

Alfaro, who lives in Santa Monica, said the site already has made her life
easier. 

"If you have a disability, you have to plan ahead," she said. Before setting
out on a trip, it's important to know paths and entrances that are
user-friendly for disabled people, she added. 

"I had to find that out by experience. Now I go to LILA, and I get
everything."  

For years, Toy said, the Internet has been making daily tasks such as
shopping, paying bills and communication easier for people who have trouble
leaving their homes. 

Efficient surfing

The LILA site also wants to cut down the amount of time it takes to surf the
Web for the right information, and filtering out wrong or outdated
information, Toy said. 

In addition, the site addresses the needs of people with a wide variety of
disabilities, including those who are blind, deaf, are amputees or those who
have developmental disabilities. 

The interactive maps not only show where an agency is, but what kind of
services it provides, who to contact and what other users think of it -- all
in a matter of mouse clicks. 

Also, the site gives disabled people -- who often feel isolated from the rest
of society -- a chance to interact with each other through an online forum. 

Toy said plans are under way to have the site provide the locations of all
curb ramps and other accessible paths of travel throughout the county. 

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act has made most businesses more
physically accessible, he said, but disabled people still don't know where
they can get the easiest access to wheelchair ramps, restrooms for the
disabled and other amenities. 

Toy knows firsthand what he's talking about. He's a paraplegic due to polio
he contracted when he was 3 years old. 

When a user accesses LILA through a free log-in account, a map of the area
where the person lives appears. 

The maps can be used to find resources that are not widely known, including
talking ATMs, blind fencing teams and accessible apartments for rent. 

The site's users are encouraged to share knowledge of specific agencies,
buildings, restaurants and other information they've gained over the years. 

Adaptive ability

The site is compatible with adaptive tools such as text readers and
voice-activated software. Brian Albriton and his wife, Denise, who are both
blind, said they have had no problems using the site with their text-reading
software. 

The couple, active Internet users, have signed on to LILA several times since
its inception and have learned something new about their community each time. 

"Sometimes, there might be something in the neighborhood you never even knew
about," said Denise Albriton. 

Toy estimates that the site will cost $1.5 million over three years to
maintain. Microsoft has donated about $75,000 in grants and an equal amount
in software. Other donors include the GTE Foundation and the Community
Technology Foundation of California. 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved $125,000 to support
the site, and the Los Angeles City Council is likely to approve $100,000 this
month, Toy said. 

LILA could also help close the "digital divide," said John Whitbread, program
manager with the Westside Center for Independent Living, which is partnered
with the site. 

Only 25 percent of people with disabilities own computers, according to a
report published by the Disability Statistics Center in San Francisco last
year. 

"Those are the people we need to bring online," Whitbread said. 

