Melrose Commission on Disability

11/11/2025

The next meeting of the Melrose Commission on Disability is Wednesday November 12th at 7:00 PM, via Zoom. Members of the public are welcome, and as always, there will be a public comment periods. Click on link below for further information.

CivicClerk events and agendas for citizens

07/15/2025

Please join the Melrose Commission on Disability this evening (Tuesday July 15th) at 7:00 PM, as we celebrate the Disability Pride Mural on the exterior wall of the Melrose YMCA on the corner of Main and East Foster Street. If you can't make it this evening, please stop by the mural when you get a chance. It's beautifully done by Follow Your Art Community Studio.

04/29/2025

Tonight (Tuesday 4/29) at 7:00 PM, join the Disabled Stories Collective for their inaugural Storytelling night, at Arts At The Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville. This will be a wonderful evening of people with disabilities sharing their stories illuminating barriers that come with a life with a disability. All are welcome! The Disabled Stories Collective is a storytelling project by Mass Creative Fellows and City of Melrose Disability Commissioners Garin Boyd and Erin Ryan Heyneman.

Join us for our inaugural Storytelling night. We will illuminate barriers to access that come with life with a disability.

10/27/2024

On Monday, 10/28, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, Follow Your Art Community Studios is hosting a Visual Description Tour of the Art of Words IV Gallery Exhibit, a 647 Main Street, Melrose. Details at the link below. https://www.fyamelrose.org/visual-descriptions-tour-10-28/

07/10/2024

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07/04/2024

Please join the Melrose Disability Commission at a series of upcoming events in celebration of Disability Pride Month. Activities include:

- Monday, July 8th – 6:00 PM: Unveiling of the Disability Pride Mural, at the corner of Main Street and East Foster Street, painted by Follow Your Art Community Studios.

- Thursday, July 11th – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Melrose Farmer’s Market, West Emerson and Vinton Street: Children’s book reading from local author James Norris and co-sponsored by Handi Capable Fitness and Pop-Up from the Melrose Public Library. Mr. Norris has written two children’s books on disability, “Feeling Left Out” and “Feeling Accepted: Coast to Coast”. ASL interpretation will be provided.

- Saturday, July 20th – 10:00 to Noon, Melrose Highlands Congregational, 355 Franklin Street: Panel discussion with Disability Commission Members, who will share updates on the commission’s work, and the perspectives of commission members on ensuring that Melrose is fully inclusive and welcoming to all people with disabilities. ASL interpretation will be provided.

04/13/2024

Travel for people with disabilities is improving, in part as a result of advocacy, positive portrayals of people with disabilities in public media, and inclusion of people with disabilities in schools, workplaces and communities. As noted in The Boston Globe article by Jon Marcus:
"Many of these improvements have come thanks to the disabled community’s own growing activism and that of allies more exposed than earlier generations to disabled classmates and colleagues at school and work, and disabled characters in popular culture."

WATCH: Correspondent Jon Marcus breaks down the issues, trends and changes in the travel industry.

01/12/2024

The MBTA Riders' Transportation Access Group is holding its next meeting online on Thurs. 1/25 from 3:00 to 5:00. This is a forum where riders can provide input and feedback regarding accessible transportation. Details on the RTAG web page.

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.

11/15/2023

Please join the Melrose Commission on Disability and Melrose Parks Department for dedication of the new accessible playground at Warren Park at the corner of Melrose and Warren Street this Sunday November 19th, at 11:00 AM. We will be celebrating this wonderful new facility designed so that children with and without disabilities can play together in a way that is full inclusive. There will a short ceremony with refreshments. If you have any accommodation or support needs to attend this event, or have any questions, email the commission at [email protected]

10/19/2023

Harvard Law School Project on Disability Event: Reckoning with the History of State Institutions for People with Disabilities - How Lessons from the Past Should Inform Today's Policies. October 25th - 5:15 to 6:30

In July 2022, the Massachusetts state legislature established the Special Commission on State Institutions to undertake historical human rights work, including

10/18/2023

Attention art lovers! The Melrose Commission on Disability is happy to partner with Follow your Art Community Studios for a guided visual description tour of a sampling of the FYACS current gallery show: ‘Art of Words III’. This intimate event will take place on Friday, October 27th from 7-8:30PM. If you or a loved one would benefit from an aural reading to fully experience visual art, please register at the link below!

Join us on Friday, October 27th from 7-8:30pm for a Visual Descriptions Tour at the Follow Your Art Community Studios Gallery. The Visual Descriptions Tour is designed for those who are blind or low vision, yet is open and accessible for all. Discover pieces from the Art of Words III exhibit through rich verbal descriptions of the artwork and aural readings of the writings submitted. Touch components for sculpture may be included.

The event is free, but please register in advance, as space is limited. Register at bit.ly/GalleryTour1

Image Description: Informational graphic of the Visual Descriptions Tour or Art of Words III. Top: photograph of acrylic shoreline landscape in blues and greens.

This event is brought to you by Arts for All and is supported by the Melrose Commission on Disability.

10/17/2023

The MBTA's Riders Transportation Access Group is holding a general membership meeting this Thursday October 19th from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Details and registration information can be found at the link below.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: RTAG October General Membership Meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.