Go out with a peace of mind

The Enabling Community coLAB organised by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and SG Enable which was held over the past two months saw many innovative projects that could empower people with disabilities in their everyday lives

GoEasy (formerly known as Accessing Accessibility) was one of the five teams that won $20,000 in seed money to help jumpstart their idea. Consisting of six members, including two wheelchair users and an SPD staff, their solution works like mobile and web applications, or apps, that crowdsource feedback and rate places based on accessibility.

Although information on accessible routes to buildings and their accessibility is already available, what is currently lacking is the accessibility of the building tenants. Even in a generally accessible building, barriers and lack of accessibility of individual shops could exist which would leave wheelchair users frustrated and inconvenienced.

The GoEasy app provides persons with physical disabilities with data and information on accessibility of distinct places, so they can venture beyond their routine destinations, be out and about and participate in more social and recreational activities. The app shows accessibility ratings of buildings, activity spaces and specific businesses or facilities, such as restaurants, movie theatres and more.

Project executive at SPD, Clara Loh, who was involved in conceptualising and developing the idea, said: “To work with a group of people willing to commit a considerable amount of time and energy outside their own full-time jobs to develop the product that would benefit others in the society has truly been an enriching experience for me.”

“It was a unique opportunity to work for a good cause while learning from people out of the social service sector and from very varied backgrounds”

The team is currently working on the prototype and hopes to launch the app next year.

Find out more on the GoEasy app from the team’s presentation at http://vimeo.com/95627401. For anyone who is interested to volunteer to help test the app, or to simply follow the team’s progress, please visit www.fb.com/AllGoEasy or http://o76zb8z9.launchrock.co.