Patrick Hughes and Brigid Hughes, Neighbor

The video blog is the work of local businessman, Patrick Hughes,  who blogs with  his mother, Brigid Hughes, and introduces us to what people with disabilities encounter in their daily lives.  Patrick Hughes first became interested in this subject as a nineteen-year-old college student, when he founded a non-profit organization called Natural Ties.  Later he founded Inclusion Solutions, a company that assembles and markets devices that make the world more accessible through products that aid people with disabilities at the gas pump, the ballot box, and at drive thru restaurants.

“As a kid, I always admired how people would come to talk with my mom, asking for her opinions and views on different matters.  With this blog my mom and I explore inclusion for people with disabilities, so like her friends always did, I can get her take on each situation.”

“Why Pepsi with Brigid?  Everyone who came to visit our home was offered a Pepsi - my mom’s drink of choice.”

In early episodes Brigid visited a gas station in the Evanston/Skokie area to see what barriers are faced by drivers with disabilities when going through the routine act of ‘gassing up’.  Two weeks ago she and Patrick flew to meet 5 kids from the North Carolina School for the Deaf to learn more about how they want to improve the world for the deaf and hard of hearing in their community.  The trip resulted in a commitment from a McDonald’s franchisee to install OrderAssist, a device that makes drive thru ordering possible for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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