A Connecticut mom’s company is aiding people with disabilities in their experiences with visiting businesses.
Empowered Together is a tech company that provides accessible and inclusive experiences to customers with disabilities.
Businesses involved with Empowered Together’s services are listed on their website’s marketplace, allowing for people with disabilities to see what accommodations they can expect before visiting a business.
Non-business-owning users can sign up for free and either recommend a business or leave a review.
Founder and CEO of Empowered Together, Sarah Spear, explained the origins of her company.
“Ten years ago, I welcomed my daughter into this world. She has multiple disabilities caused by a rare genetic disease. I learned pretty quickly that I was going to need the support of a community to help me navigate the educational, medical and therapeutic systems that support my daughter,” Spear said.
She further explained how Empowered Together acts as an outlet for communication among members of the disability community that aligns with modern-day technologies.
“Empowered Together began as a way to digitize information that the disability community has historically shared by word of mouth,” Spear said. “Empowered Together’s mission is to ensure accessible, inclusive consumer experiences for people and families living with disability.”
Most recently, the company launched a pilot program in New Haven where Empowered Together staff walk through businesses to identify proper accessibility features and provide recommended additions and upgrades for businesses, a press release said.
“New Haven is a mecca of education and culture in Connecticut,” the Chair of the City of New Haven Commission on Disabilities, Billy Huang, said in a press release. “The myriad of businesses reflect that diversity, and it’s crucial that such diversity is also reflected in the people who are able to access those businesses.”
For those not living in Connecticut, the marketplace extends across the nation.
Spear expressed interest in connecting Empowered Together with college and university disability centers in the future.
“Many disabled young adults are beginning to have buying power as they venture out on their own in college,” Spear said. “Empowered Together’s marketplace is an opportunity for students to find, rate and review businesses that meet their needs. This is also a tool that colleges’ disability services offices would benefit from sharing with the students who use their services.”