New initiatives to improve lives of neurodiverse people in Navan
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Pascal O’Reilly, MCR Security, Kieran Hamilton Euro Car Parks, Eva Burke, Neurodiversity Navan and Peter Dolan Navan Town Centre Manager ;aunching the new initiativeImage 2 of 2
Eva Burke, chairperson of Neurodiversity Navan with Pascal O’Reilly, MCR Security, Kieran Hamilton Euro Car Parks and Peter Dolan Navan Town Centre Manager highlighting the new neurodiverse initiatives in the Town Centre.Neurodiversity Navan, a volunteer led community group with ambitions to improve the daily lives of neurodivergent people and their families, recently announced a number of progressive initiatives with Navan Town Centre in order to make Navan more accessible for neurodivergent people and their families.
The first of the initiatives announced is the introduction of Neurodiversity Parking Bays in the Green and Blue Car Parks of Navan Town Centre.
Eva Burke, Chairperson of Neurodiversity Navan, explained why these spaces are so important.
“Neurodivergent children and adults can often have sensory sensitivities making access to local amenities very challenging and overwhelming. Additionally, some neurodivergent children would be considered a flight risk, mundane tasks such as shopping can represent a serious safety concern for parents and so these parking bays will be of great help. We do rely on the goodwill of people in our community to avoid using these spaces unless there is a high need to do so. To utilize these spaces, drivers will need to display a “Neurodiversity Navan” car sticker.” For more information, you can contact NeurodiversityNavan@gmail.com.”
The second initiative is the introduction of complimentary sensory packs for neurodivergent people accessing Navan Town Centre. These packs are available from the Security and Car Park team. Individuals should bring appropriate ID such as an AsIAm card, Family Carers card, or supported lanyards like Neurodiversity Ireland or Sunflower lanyards.
“Navan Town Centre is one of the first shopping centres in Ireland to introduce these important steps and while these changes may seem small, they are incredibly meaningful in creating a more understanding and accessible community for neurodivergent individuals and their families. We are so grateful to Peter and Stacey from Navan Town Centre, Ciaran from Euro Car Parks and Paula from Meath Chamber for their support in helping to make our community more inclusive.”