Where’s Lulu
Where’s Lulu is a free online community where people with disabilities can get accurate, reliable information on accessibility, and provide that information to other users by reviewing their favorite (or least favorite) local businesses. Where’s Lulu provides an open forum where people can share information on everything from menu readability to bathroom accessibility.
Where’s Lulu currently in Portland, Oregon, and California’s Bay Area is now in Boston.
Best friends Caitlin “Lulu” Wood and Toshio Meronek founded Where’s Lulu in 2007, frustrated that you either had to be “lucky” enough to learn about accessible establishments through word-of-mouth, or call places ahead of time in hopes of receiving accurate information (while often getting the wrong information).
Caitlin, a.k.a Lulu, is a disabled woman, a disability advocate, a foodie, and a drinkie. Caitlin sees Where’s Lulu as an opportunity to raise the standards of accessibility in everyday mainstream culture. She’s propelled by the fact that, despite being the world’s largest minority group, the disabled community continues to face marginalization and barriers at many levels.
As Caitlin recalls, “Many, many nights we found ourselves trying our luck at a new nightspot only to find it marginally accessible. Maybe I could get in the door, but I couldn’t use the bathroom (which is a nightmare if you’ve been drinking all night!).”
Caitlin met Toshio her junior year of college and knew she’d found her platonic soul mate. Together, they embarked on the Where’s Lulu journey in order to normalize disability and shine a light on disability culture when most people don’t even know that ‘disability culture’ exists. Caitlin admits, “That’s ambitious. But through normalizing disability you erase stigma, which reduces barriers. By reducing barriers, you bring people together. That is the ultimate reason we started Where’s Lulu.
Toshio, a San Francisco, CA resident, a writer, an occasional DJ, and a self-proclaimed Cup Noodles connoisseur, sees Where’s Lulu from another angle. As a disability ally, Toshio understands Where’s Lulu as a progressive, guiding voice for the conversation around how disability culture interacts with the rest of the American culture. He sees many parallels between how disabled people are treated today and how other minorities have been treated in the past. Since meeting Caitlin, Toshio has experienced firsthand the difficulties and restrictions that plague the disabled community. All of a sudden, going out and having a beer with a friend was a challenge.
We believe strongly that diversity and equality are integral to a healthy, happy society. Our mission is to champion social progress by increasing visibility of the disability community and establishing higher standards of accessibility for businesses and public places in general.
We aim to eliminate the stress and frustrations of trying to find fun, accessible venues, in order to open up more opportunities for people to relax and connect with others who share similar interests.
Visit our site @ http://whereslulu.com/ to learn more!
Thanks so much!
Caitlin and Toshio
