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Issues Related to the Information Environment


A survivor with limited stamina or fatigue can be disabled by activities that squander limited energy unnecessarily. It is important for her to know directions and distances before setting out in order to avoid costly missteps.

Examples of Problems

  • A survivor gets tired trying to find a restroom. It turns out to be on another floor. The survivor has expended valuable energy on a fruitless quest for a restroom that is on another floor. She feels too worn out to return to the community workshop.
  • A community member calls a provider about a workshop that will be held in a location with which she is unfamiliar. She finds that the sponsors do not know enough about the route from the transit station and to the actual location in the building to be able to tell her. The provider does not offer to find out and get back to her.

Suggested Solutions

For people who have limited stamina and fatigue, clarity of routes indoors and information about routes and distances to external events and appointments are critical. Clear signage can reduce people’s anxiety about finding their way. To be lost is to expend precious energy that a person may not be able to afford. Examine paths of travel - the path from an entrance to a waiting area, the path to an elevator, the path to a group meeting room, the path to a restroom. Follow the route and ask yourself these questions.
  • Is it a logical route that you could follow by yourself if it was your first time?
  • Are there signs where you must make a choice?
  • Is the area sufficiently lit so as not to make it more confusing?
  • If the restroom is on another level, is that clear and obvious at critical points like at reception and at the elevator?
When providers use other organizations’ buildings for community meetings, prevention workshops, or support groups, providers should investigate the accessible routes to and through the building to the meeting space, to restrooms, and to drinking fountains. If anything is not clearly marked, post temporary signs to help guide people.

Providing seating in long hallways and on long walkways can make distance more manageable.

Providers should understand distances to walk regardless of method of travel. Where is the accessible parking? How far to a bus stop?