An interview with Mt. A Mobility Mission President Kate Cleary
According to UNICEF, only one in 10 people who are in need of assistive technology or mobility aids are able to afford them. Catherine (Kate) Cleary, a fourth-year psychology student at Mt. A, is on a mission to change this statistic, and the work begins right here on campus. As President of the Mt. A Mobility Mission, Cleary hopes to inspire change within the Mt. A community, working towards a more accessible, inclusive experience for all through her societies’ initiatives. What began as a mere fundraising initiative soon snowballed into something greater, attempting to make tangible change for students at Mt.A who live with disabilities.
“I worked at a summer camp for children living with chronic illness, where I realized the importance of accessibility. A lot of people during Arthritis week use a wheelchair, or a different mobility aid,” says Cleary, “ I originally created the club to fundraise for those things for people all over Canada.” Recognizing the need for affordable healthcare and accessibility support, Cleary created the Mobility Mission using Instagram as a platform to advocate for change. “When I made the account, people started reaching out about how they felt like they could not get to class, […] or just generally how the campus was really inaccessible to people who were not fully able-bodied. People can break a leg, and then they cannot get to their classes.” It was this insight from students that encouraged Cleary and her team to narrow their mission focusing on creating change right here at Mt. A.
The mandate of the Mobility Mission [Mt.A] includes outreach, fundraising, and fighting stigma to increase overall accessibility and wellbeing for students. Outreach Coordinator Emma Lomax will be reaching out to staff members here on campus, as well as other universities, to see how this team can best tackle accessibility issues students are facing. Cleary noted that Lomax interviewed professors “who would be knowledgeable about students’ struggles” including Jane Dryden, a professor in the philosophy department at Mt. A and others from the Sociology Department. These interviews will help the team to get a better view of how best to provide support to students with mobility needs.
Through fundraising, Mobility Mission hopes to push for change here on campus, such as installing ramps or elevators within buildings, by hosting community events. The society urges those interested in helping their mission to keep an eye out for trivia nights and bottle drives, among other things, as the team seeks to raise money to provide support to students in need. Lastly, they hope to use their platform to give a voice to those who may feel their experiences with accessibility needs on campus go overlooked, and fight stigma surrounding mobility aids. According to a study conducted by Statistics Canada in 2020, one in 10 Canadians over the age of 15 are in need of mobility aids.
In the short term, the team hopes to fundraise enough to start supporting students and their necessary accommodations, alleviate stigma surrounding these topics, and amplify the voices of those who experience mobility issues at Mt. A. “The very main thing is that we give students a platform to speak out about issues, problems, things that they think campus needs to do better, or even things that they think we as a society/club should do better.” says Cleary. “I am not in need of a mobility aid, so I can only have the perspective of someone who has an able body, right? So, I would absolutely love it if someone […] [has] a better idea, or if they have something they think we are not touching on, I would love it if they could DM us!
As for their long-term goals, Cleary said she is “hoping that people will continue to advocate for the students in need, and that Mount Allison will continue to try to make it accessible, continue to listen to us.” You can support their initiative by following the Instagram account (@themobilitymissionmta), attending their events, and sharing your own experiences or concerns with mobility issues on campus, via the Google Form linked in their bio.