The Athens City-County Health Department’s Creating Healthy Communities (CHC) program and the Ohio State Parks Foundation (OSPF) are partnering to raise funds to build an accessible beach entrance at Strouds Run State Park. Together, they are asking organizations, businesses and community members to contribute funds to help make Strouds Run a place where everyone can enjoy a day at the beach.
A steering committee of community members has been working to create an accessible beach entrance for about a year, according to project manager Meredith Erlewine, CHC coordinator at the health department. Once completed, the accessible beach entrance will include a concrete pathway from the parking lot to the beach and a permeable pathway across the sand to the water.
According to Erlewine, community members experiencing health inequities or social marginalization partner with CHC to amplify their collective power and create solutions. Health equity is achieved when all people in a community have access to affordable, inclusive, and quality infrastructure that allows them to reach their full health potential.
“Athens County residents who live with mobility disabilities and who have family members with disabilities have voiced the need for this amenity for years,” Erlewine said. “We know it is important to bring this recreation opportunity to Strouds Run.”
The group has raised $30,000 of the projected cost of $84,000 to create an accessible entrance.
Community members and representatives of businesses or organizations that would like to contribute to the project can make a tax-deductible contribution through the Ohio State Parks Foundation website: https://bit.ly/3VtCcrH .
“This project will enable more people to enjoy the beach and lake of Strouds Run State Park and it will help us fulfill our mission, which is to make our great state parks more welcoming to more people,” said OSPF Trustee Brian Blair, a resident of the region. “We are thrilled to partner with CHC on this project.”
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