Patrick Hughes
Inclusion Solutions, www.inclusionsolutions.com, founder Pat Hughes had previously created the non-profit ‘Natural Ties’ and served as its executive director. Natural Ties was dedicated to fostering relationships and friendships between people with disabilities and those without. Under his leadership it grew to include 14 chapters around the country. His work on promoting social inclusion led him to realize that as well as psychological barriers, the disabled also had to contend with physical barriers that impeded interaction—going out to a restaurant, shopping, or visiting an office. He began talking to business owners in his home town of Evanston, Illinois, and learned that some were aware of the access issues and some were not. Most were willing to make changes but had only been presented solutions that were beyond their economic means. That understanding was the impetus for Inclusion Solutions.
