Changing Places NZ - Life changing public bathrooms for Kiwis in need (updated video available)

There are accessible toilets in New Zealand and then there are Changing Places toilets and if you’re abled enough to not need a Changing Places toilets then you can count yourself lucky. It’s not the kind of club there’s a waiting list to get into, but for thousands of kiwis who need these public toilets, and the family members who support them – they’re life changing. Robert Scott sat down with Jenn Hooper (MNZM) from Changing Places New Zealand to discover the need for their bathrooms across the country. Awareness of Changing Places toilets is huge for those who need them but not on the radarof most New Zealanders. If your child needs two people to assist them going to the toilet or you have an elderly parent with incontinence issues you already have enough challenges without them being house bound. Jenn Hooper from Changing Places who is on a mission to ensure kiwis in need still have the ability to explore the communities they live in. Jenn jokes that she's simply known as "the queen of the toilets" around her house and it’s something "she fell into". Jenn explains, "I have a daughter Charley who was born with a brain injury. She’s a teenager now and she can’t see, she can’t move a single muscle in her body and she doesn’t know who we are. Though my experience with Charley I discovered the irony that to use disabled toilets in public you actually have to be quite abled." What Jenn wants people to know is there are thousands of disabled people in New Zealand who either need assistance using a toilet or they have incontinence issues and if they need to clean up in public then having the right space to do that gives them the confidence to get out of the house and live their lives. Changing Places Bathrooms help people in need in lots of ways but it all centres around giving the right kiwis and their carers the confidence that when they go to a public park, or hospital, or a mall, that the right facilities are available for them and in a consistent format they know and trust. The team at Changing Places have spent years designing and refining toilets with hoists, height adjustable toilets and hand basins, adult sized changing tables the right showers, privacy screens, non-slip flooring and most importantly the right space required. These toilets give people the confidence to know they can visit public places, have family gatherings or get medical assistance without issues. There’s critically important detail involved in all Changing Places designs. If a hand rail is in the wrong place or the shower hose is attached too high on the wall or even the basin height isn’t adjustable then toilets that are 90% correct can still be unusable for those in need and that’s disappointing - especially when a lot of money and effort is put in by the organisations building them. At the time of recording there were 10 Changing Places facilities throughout New Zealand but there are already many more today. Jenn is on a mission to work with any and all councils, private companies and health organisations to ensure they're in every town and city in the country. That often means being flexible in the way they roll out the bathrooms because every organisation has different access needs but Jenn is determined to get it right because the benefits of having the right toilets in public mean so much to the people who use them. Access wise, there’s a simple process to become a Changing Places member and a one-off fee for an access tag to all bathrooms nationwide. Most organisations have additional tags or access requirements so non-members can use the facilities but what’s important to Jenn is the right people can use their facilities and equipment isn’t being damaged by people who don’t need to use them. So how can people support Changing Places? By watching the video above you’re already helping because it’s important people know there are different levels of disability in New Zealand and a need for Changing Places toilets. When you see the symbol in your community it's good to understand who these toilets are there for. The team always appreciate donations too and have had many generous people help with the toilets built so far. Wherever Changing Places can they incorporate artwork of the communities and kiwis who have supported them into the toilets themselves. Finally, Changing Places couldn’t do what they do without the support of organisations who build Changing Places Bathrooms for their communities. Jenn is incredibly grateful to those organisations and she understands that "talking toilets" might not seem like the most exciting topic but she's very enthusiastic about it so encourages anyone to give her a call and if she can make the design and build process easier then we all win together. (updated video available) #philanthropy #ChangingPlacesNZ #JennHooper #KiwiBrandStories