HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa Bay area leaders and disability awareness advocates came together on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of a campaign meant to promote inclusivity and meet the needs of everyone in the community regarding transportation.
On any given day, you might find Sam Piazza on a HART bus getting to work and the gym.
"Individuals like us, people with disabilities, get a chance to be more independent and more freedom," said Piazza.
Piazza is also the star of a new video alongside his family to help kick off a campaign called HART for All.
"My husband and I both have jobs. We're busy, we're active," Ruth Piazza, Sam's mom, said in the HART promotional video. "It just makes it easier to know that Sam has a way to get home and that he doesn't have to rely on us."
The Hillsborough Transit Authority, known as HART, said the campaign is dedicated to enhancing accessibility and support for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.
It's a program that's personal for Luis Viera, who is Chairman of the HART Board.
"My oldest brother, Juan, is intellectually disabled, so a lot of times, we don't know what we don't know, and we want to make sure to educate people on people like Juan, that they're part of the family of Tampa, they have a place at the table, and they play such a big role in our community," said Viera. "We've got to make sure that we have a community where everybody belongs."
Leaders said the focus is to educate people on how they can use HART services, with educational guides for riders, in addition to HART operators and other workers to help them best assist those in need.
As part of the launch, a bus with the HART for All message was also unveiled to help raise awareness of the campaign.
"Sometimes, if you're not the person with a disability or you're not a family member with a person with a disability, you don't realize the need, but the need is great, and it would benefit our whole entire community to make sure everyone has equal access," said Tonya Whitlock, the Founder of the Hive Inclusive Community.
