CBC's Rick Cluff interviews Whistler for the Disabled (First Interview of two CBC interviews)

RICK = Good morning. Every Monday morning, on our program we honored those folks who are trying to make our community a little better and little brighter.

This week, on our early edition, our guest has created a special web site to help make Whistler more accessible for people with disability.

Huey Tollett is hearing impaired. But he can read lips. He recently dropped by our studio in Vancouver to tell us about the Whistlerforthedisabled.com

RICK = Huey tell me, how did you come up with this idea. Whistlerforthedisabled.com?

HUEY = This started when I started to loose my hearing in 2002 and eventually became deaf in 2004.

I was living in Whistler full time and it became extremely difficult for me to access anything anymore as I use to, to make phone calls, etc… it was crazy. Like when I was in the village and wanted to make a phone call and I could not make phone calls anymore and use the phone anymore. I had to go to my friends and say = Do you think you could make this phone call to this person or that person for me? And when I use to go to the store nobody would be able to communicate with me, it was really crazy.

So I started to look at other disabilities like the visual impaired, individuals in wheelchairs. I started to realize. Man, there is nothing available for these people to find the information they need? There were no information accessible for them. That's where Whistlerforthedisabled.com came from.

RICK = Huey, how did you loose your hearing?

HUEY = I lost my hearing from a very rare genetic disease called Acoustic Neuroma, type 2, and is basically Acoustic Neuroma which causes your hearing nerve to be damaged by the tumor growth. I actually first lost my first hearing on the left side when I was 7 years old but I was really lucky to have been able to keep my hearing for another 25 years. I was so happy! For so long!

RICK = How accessible is Whistler?

HUEY = It is really the transportation that's an issue right now, I think. All the communities are working on putting on signs and doing their things for wheelchairs access and right now, the busses are being modified and within two years, it's going to be fully accessible. it's real cool, around Vancouver and any other cities I don't think we'll have fully accessible busses. But right now it's the transportation.

RICK = What does the web site offers that other web site about Whistler don't?

HUEY = It provides all kinds of information. It addresses all those issues. For the visually impaired it's the only web site in Whistler with visually impaired site to its source. If somebody has vision problems and they go to the web site they can click on the visually impaired site with larger icons and larger, different layouts, it's really cool.

It addresses the village access all the information where the disabled parking spots are, where are the friendly accessible washrooms for the disabled, the friendly accessible restaurants, the recreation and dining section.

For the dining section, we address every single restaurant and the accessibility factors as well as the night life and the accommodation is the same.

RICK = And the dining, is very important.

HUEY = That's for sure, lots of time you go out and you don't know if there are stairs in front of the restaurant or if the washrooms are downstairs in the basement, if they can access it or not. Whistlerforthedisabled web site covers all that and even addresses lip reading for the hearing impaired. If they cannot see they can access information on eye seeing dogs. So, we really touch base with everybody.

RICK = Huey, I understand you originally went to local government for money to do this site but it didn't come true. So who is funding?

HUEY = Yes, that's true, I also found that lots of organizations in Whistler are already tide up with other sponsorships deals. But there are other funding available. But, I didn't make the criteria and I didn't make the deadlines, so I feel that eventually in time, that the funding will come along.

RICK = What kind of feedback did you receive from people who use the site?

HUEY = All kinds of feedback from across over Canada, from Montreal, I have such a large web site, it's amazing what's going to happen this year with the media, and it's really going to drive tourism to Whistler. Everybody is saying the same thing and all the feedback from the municipality. They're really really really keen on it. Everybody is keen on funding.

RICK = Well Huey, it sounds great! Thanks very much and CONGRATULATIONS!

HUEY = Thanks a lot.

RICK = HUEY TOLLETT who is trying to make Whistler more accessible for the people with disability. You can check his web site at www.whistlerforthedisabled.com, it's www.whistlerforthedisabled.com.