Parents for Joy are close to making accessible park a reality
Parents for Joy is working to build a fully accessible playground in Atascadero; artist rendering above depicts the layout and design. The group has the land, but is still working on raising all the necessary funding.
When a group of North County moms, all parents of special needs children, started getting together for outings in the area, it didn’t take long for them to realize there wasn’t a park that they could safely go to.
A group of Parents for Joy members and their children gather in front of the area that will be used to construct an accessible park in Atascadero. Photo by Heather Young
“It was difficult to take the children out,” Parents for Joy co-founder Jenelle Allen said. “Some are runners, [some are in wheelchairs].”
Allen said that after she had a baby girl with Downs Syndrome, who later died, she decided to take her grief and do something in her daughter’s memory. So she and Sarah Sullivan started Parents for Joy, named in memory of Allen’s daughter, Savannah Joy.
Allen, Sullivan and several other moms then appeared before the Atascadero City Council in May 2013 to petition for a special needs park. The council members voiced their support and later the City of Atascadero gave the group 11,000 square feet of park area next to the Colony Park Community Center on Traffic Way.
Sullivan researched the needs of different disabilities so that there is at least one piece of equipment to serve every disability. The park will even feature a tree house that will be accessible to all children, even those in wheelchairs. The entire park will also be fenced off to allow children prone to running away to be able to run free in the park without their parents worrying.
The proposed tree house for the park, pictured above, allows even those in wheelchairs to play.
“We’ve been working really hard,” Allen said.
So far, Parents for Joy has raised $45,000 since March. Allen said that $500,000 is needed to construct the park. The surface of the park will be a soft rubber, which Allen said will serve the elderly who might not be able to stand on the hard concrete. The city has approved the project, Allen said, but has yet to approve the design. The Atascadero Planning Commission recommended approval of the design, which will go before the Atascadero City Council in October. Community Development Director Warren Frace said it is tentatively set for Oct. 14, but the city is still waiting for all the plans to come in. Once the council approves the design, Allen said, Parents for Joy will start applying for grants to help fund the playground.
While the park is designed with children who have disabilities in mind, the park is for all children. The park will even have 12 different swings to accommodate the different weights and harness needs.
“It’s going to be all inclusive,” Allen said, adding that the group hopes to break ground in the spring.
Parents for Joy will hold a fundraiser, Fund Run, Walk & Roll, on Saturday, Sept. 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Atascadero Lake Park. The event will include a walk around the lake, a barbecue by the Moose Lodge, entertainment and music by Madston, performances by local cheerleaders, a bounce house, face painting, raffle prizes and more. The cost to register for the walk is $5 per person or $15 for a family. All of the proceeds will go toward the playground.
