Willow’s Walk: Elkhart pre-teen paving the path for future generations

ELKHART, Ind. -- When 12-year-old Willow Townsend realized other cities provide more Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility than the Hart city, she took it upon herself to meet up with Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson, sparking future downtown improvements.

Like any sixth grader, Willow has lots of hobbies: she loves playing with her dog, making music, and hanging out with friends, but because Willow is blind, she experiences the world differently than her peers.

“I used to think that there were so many things to help blind people or visually impaired people or any type of person with any condition and I slowly realized there’s not a lot in place and I realized there probably should be,” shared Willow.

That realization came to Willow last year, when she was nominated for Elkhart’s ‘Yes I Can’ Award, presented by The Council for Exceptional Children. Once she got that award, she was nominated for state, then nationals, also taking an award home at both.

She didn’t just take a trophy home from the nationals trip to San Antonio, Texas though. That’s also where she realized many other cities have things like Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS), crosswalks that give verbal indicators of when it is safe to walk or not, which is a very important tool for the visually impaired as Willow explained.

Willow said Elkhart has added some truncated domes in the past, the raised dome-shaped warning tiles set at the boundary between the sidewalk and street, but she said they are not at every crossing like they should be, just as APS should be too.

“They added truncated domes which helped us identify where the start of the street is, which was another big thing, we could just walk on into the street, so that helped with the start of the street but… it’s still very hard for us… to tell when it is like safe,” said Willow.

Willow has been working with the Elkhart Community Schools blind and low-vision teacher, Julene Fitch, since Willow was three. One of the things Fitch teaches is orientation and mobility: skills that help Willow know where she is and wants to go in a safe and efficient way. So, after their trip to Texas, Fitch made a new lesson plan.

“We were talking, and Mrs. Julene was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got a cool project.’ I go, ‘What is it?’ She goes, ‘We’re gonna go talk to the mayor.’ And I go, ‘Uh, I don’t think the mayor is gonna listen to a 12-year-old nobody,’” said Willow.

Willow is not a nobody, and Mayor Roberson was quick to see that when Willow and Fitch presented him with the lesson plan Fitch created. It started with research and walks towards downtown to identify areas with issues.

Then they crafted a speech, met with the Mayor and his team, and by the next week, Willows name was being said at the State of the City address.

“Her presentation was so moving, and we all know that… if we’re able to assist disabilities, it raises the bar for everyone. So, thank you so much Willow, we appreciate you living in the city of Elkhart,” said Mayor Roberson during his address.

Mayor Roberson made a promise that night to implement accessible curb ramps in the downtown corridor and APS at multiple locations in downtown. One step closer to making Willow’s Walks less challenging.

“It’s important to me that they are set up for success for, forever. You know, that they become as independent as they can and that they have a joyous life,” said Fitch.

Willow’s walks have sparked the start of safer streets for everyone, one crosswalk at a time, “I want to help not only us, but the people who will live here after us,” said Willow.