Program that helps people with disabilities visit the ocean restarts after COVID pause
After a 15-month hiatus due to COVID-19, a Miami Beach program that helps people with disabilities visit the beach and enjoy the ocean will return Sunday with new health guidelines in place.
The Sabrina Cohen Foundation’s Adaptive Beach Days program, which first launched in 2016, will host a limited number of participants Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 6475 Collins Ave.
Volunteers will convert a segment of the beach there into an easily accessible area where they will lead about 15 to 20 participants into the water using specialized floating beach chairs. The program, which was suspended in March 2020 due to COVID, will require that participants who want to enter the water be vaccinated and RSVP at the foundation’s website.
A total of about 100 participants are expected to take part in the event, which will offer activities like aqua therapy, adaptive water sports and art therapy. About 75 deck tiles, each weighing 70 pounds, will cover the sand to create a platform that is accessible to those who use wheelchairs. A large tent will shield the group from the sun and tables will be set up offering food and water. Masks will also be provided.
Sabrina Cohen, the Miami Beach resident whose foundation organizes the events, said while able-bodied people were compelled to go outdoors more during the pandemic, people using wheelchairs were unable to take advantage of the Beach Days program. Because several volunteers are needed to help each participant get into the water, social distancing cannot be observed during the events.
The programs, which are typically held bimonthly, will be held every second Sunday of the month this year before ramping back up to twice a month.
“I’m ecstatic because a lot of people found solace in being outdoors throughout this pandemic — even able-bodied people. Being all cooped up and isolated, that’s something that this community faces even more,” Cohen said. “To not have the ability to share with them the program, it was heartbreaking.”
The relaunch of Adaptive Beach Days comes at a time when Cohen’s foundation is raising money for the construction of a three-story wellness center on donated city land that will house equipment for the beach program and feature an adaptive gym, rooftop pool and robotics lab. Planned services include a resource library, yoga and meditation classes and various therapy forms (water, art, dance, music).
The Miami Beach commission voted last month to donate a $2.5 million matching grant toward the construction of the center, which may cost up to $12 million. Miami-Dade County gave $577,000 in general-obligation bond money to help fund construction of a new accessible park and observation deck behind the building. The park is planned to open next summer. There is no time frame yet for the construction of the building, planned to be at 5301 Collins Ave., which will mostly be funded through private donations.
Cohen said the suspension of the beach program gave her team more time to concentrate on securing a permanent home for the foundation.
“We really put the time to good use, which was giving attention to the center that it needed,” she said. “We’re sad we didn’t have the beach days but it gave us the ability to really focus on the facility.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
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