The Ferndale Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Commission (FAIAC) is pleased to announce the first annual Accessibility and Inclusion Award – highlighting community leaders in making strides toward accessibility and inclusion. This award seeks to recognize Ferndale businesses who have made their space more accessible to people with disabilities, as both customers and employees.

The goals of this award program are to recognize effort and subsequent human impact, provide encouragement and inspiration for other businesses and organizations, acknowledge incremental improvements – rather than high-dollar investments - and demonstrate examples of going above and beyond ADA requirements.

The nomination process launched on December 3, 2020, in recognition of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and will continue through February 19, 2021. Nominations will be reviewed by the FAIAC, and the awards will be given in early spring. Any business operating within the City of Ferndale is eligible to receive an award each year.

To nominate a Ferndale business, please click here.

Nomination categories can include improvements in areas of digital accessibility, environmental accessibility, cognitive accessibility, employment accessibility, accessibility training and awareness, communications accessibility, and other entries outside of the categories mentioned. For examples of each category, please click here.

The FAIAC is appointed by City Council. The Commission is comprised of Ferndale residents, including people with disabilities and allies, who serve as passionate advocates for accessibility in the Ferndale community’s public spaces and businesses. The FAIAC operates with four primary goals - to incorporate an accessibility review into the site plan approval process, to work with Ferndale businesses to identify accessibility improvement opportunities, to create a recognition program to highlight agencies and businesses making improvements to increase accessibility, and to report activities to City Council annually and review and update goals as necessary.

For more information about the program, please contact Marciano Gongora at (313) 615-1103 or by emailing mjgongora@madonna.edu