MISSOULA - The Missoula Public Library is meant to be a community hub, and the staff there work to make sure it is welcoming to everyone.
The library focuses on making its space accessible for those with mobility issues or other disabilities.
The library's new Hidden Sunflower Disability Program will make it easier for people with non-visible disabilities to feel welcomed at the library. Non-visible disabilities include any short-term or long-term illness that may affect a person's behavior or response in public.
Marje Doyle was a reference librarian for senior outreach when she discovered the program. The library was already delivering books to senior living facilities, as well as hosting a Healthy Aging Week, which included activities specific to seniors.
Through her work, Doyle got involved with Dementia Friendly America, a national organization that tries to support people with dementia in public spaces, including libraries. Once Doyle retired, a local affiliate, Dementia Friendly Missoula was created and started speaking with public officials, including the Missoula Police Department, on how to best interact with someone who may have dementia.
Dementia Friendly Missoula also worked with the Dementia Friendly Airport Workers group to make the Missoula Airport more accessible. Shortly after that, Doyle was introduced to the Hidden Sunflower Disability Program. It began in United Kingdom airports and slowly spread to libraries and Doyle knew she wanted to try the same in Missoula.
“What is the best way to keep people safe and to serve their needs?” Doyle says. “Whether it be in a library, or in a public space, like an airport terminal, or at a bank or in a health situation? I mean, all of us that are in the community that work with the public need to have some kind of understanding and some kind of training to best serve their community.”
The Hidden Sunflower Disability Program focuses on staff training — coaching them on how to better respond to people with non-visible disabilities and how to identify those disabilities.
“You know, with the sunflower lanyards, if you see someone who's wearing one, you don't even have to communicate about what's going on– you know that that person might need a little bit more of your time or a little more patience,” Amanda Allpress, assistant director of community engagement, says.
Every staff member who has gone through the Sunflower Disability training will wear a sunflower pin, discreetly letting visitors know that they are available for extra assistance. On the back of the lanyards, available for keep at every service station in the library, is a space where people can write their name, emergency contact and any extra assistance they may need.
There is an option for a bracelet as well as the lanyard for anyone who does not wish to wear something around their neck.
“This enables us to be responsive in an appropriate way. Like none of us want to wear a sign that says ‘I'm different and there's a problem here.’ So this is a way for them to indicate without calling attention to themselves necessarily,” Doyle says.
It is important to note that some people, including children, may feel that the lanyard itself is too much of a sign. Some people do not want to bring any extra attention to themselves or their disability. Still, for those who may avoid the library because of the stress or anxiety around social interactions, the lanyard program can help alleviate some of those feelings.
“Social interactions that have been shown to decrease the rate of decline with those with dementia,” Doyle says. "It gives caregivers a bit of a lifeline and a way for them to have something for their family member to do or places that their family member can go to without being stigmatized without being misunderstood without being shut down.”
Other libraries in Montana are considering taking up the Hidden Sunflower Disability Program as well.
