On October 10th, Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) hosted a Cities of Inclusion Disability Summit at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The summit brought together community members, disability advocates, and leaders from the business, education, government, and nonprofit sectors to help make Philadelphia a more inclusive city for all peoples with disabilities. In total, more than 400 people participated in the Summit including more than 100 students from 15 Philadelphia high schools who participated in a UCS Youth Summit.

Special Olympics PA built a diverse coalition of partners to jointly plan and host the summit including the Connelly Foundation, the Eagles Autism Foundation, The Arc of Philadelphia, the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, KenCrest, Neurodiversity Employment Network, Best Buddies, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and Philadelphia250.

The day included a keynote address from Theo Braddy, disability advocate and member of the National Council on Disability, multiple panel discussions and breakout sessions, an Inclusive Resources and Connections Expo with nearly 50 vendors, and a disability policy hearing convened by State Representative Joe Hohenstein. Special guests included the First Lady of PA, Lori Shapiro, and a delegation from the White House that included leaders from the Office of Public Engagement and the US Department of Education.

Philadelphia has the highest disability rate of any major city in the country. The COI Executive Council that SOPA built in 2019 took this sobering statistic as a “call to action” and created a vision of Philadelphia as a city where all people with disabilities lead healthy and fulfilling lives as respected members of their communities.

Cities of Inclusion focuses on five core pillars: education, employment, health, housing, and access to information & services. Many of these areas are outside the scope of SOPA’s mission or core expertise, so the Executive Council includes partners aligned with these pillars. Benefits SOPA has realized from building and leading this COI coalition include stronger relationships with existing partners that have helped deepen impact with existing work such as UCS, connections and opportunities to build new partnerships, and access to new financial resources. This has also elevated the SOPA brand and reputation in the Greater Philadelphia area as a leader in the disability community.

This was the 3rd COI summit hosted by SOPA. The first was held in Philadelphia in 2018 and the second in Pittsburgh in 2019. If you’d like to learn more about Cities of Inclusion, please contact Nate Garland, SOPA’s Chief Operating Officer, at ngarland@specialolympicspa.org.

Special Olympics Pennsylvania Cities of Inclusion

The Cities of Inclusion project is focused on taking a comprehensive citywide approach in our goal to ensure the large cities in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and York are cities where people with disabilities can lead healthy and fulfilling lives as respected members of an inclusive society.

A City of Inclusion is a city where people with disabilities lead healthy and fulfilling lives as respected members of an inclusive society. These cities offer attitudes that value everyone and social inclusion that ensures people of all abilities are involved in their communities, able to effectively pursue opportunities and contribute, safely express themselves, and exercise their rights. These cities provide access and opportunities for everyone to take part in employment, education, health, housing, recreation, and information & services at levels equal to all citizens.

To be recognized as a City of Inclusion, a city must demonstrate commitment to inclusion by making actionable yearly progress towards the standards outlined below.

City of Inclusion Standards
Attitudes
We will know that Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and York have become inclusive cities when:

• A person with a disability feels and says they are included
• A caregiver or family member of a person with disability feels they are included
• The businesses, civic organizations and ALL communities in a city are inclusive
• Organizations explicitly include disability as part of their broader DEI initiatives
• City leaders explicitly incorporate disability inclusion into their broader policy goals and through public statements and commitments