GAP Map Project: United Way’s Bold Plan for Mohawk Valley Access

United Way of the Mohawk Valley wants residents and local organizations to help find and fix the accessibility barriers that keep neighbors from fully joining community life

The GAP Map Project is a new United Way of the Mohawk Valley initiative that asks businesses, professionals, and everyday residents in Oneida and Herkimer counties to help identify where accessibility breaks down and where it already works. Instead of guessing what people with disabilities and other underserved residents need, the organization is going straight to the source, both the people who provide services and the people who use them, and building a shared map of the gaps in between.

For a region where roughly 1 in 9 working-age residents lives with a disability, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates, that kind of ground-level information could shape how the Mohawk Valley plans everything from sidewalks to service counters for years to come.

What Is the GAP Map Project?

The GAP Map Project is a community data-gathering effort built around a series of workshops rather than a single survey or town hall. United Way is running two distinct tracks so that professional expertise and lived experience each get their own space to be heard.

Phyllis Breland, United Way’s Strategic Impact program chair, said the split matters because organizations and residents often see the same community through different eyes. In a recent interview with WKTV, she explained the goal is to stop assuming what people need and instead ask the people who provide services and the people who use them directly.

That approach fits into a broader pattern for United Way of the Mohawk Valley, which has spent decades running initiatives like 211, the Ride United transportation program, and local housing and homelessness efforts aimed at closing service gaps across the region.

Why Accessibility Gaps Persist in the Mohawk Valley

Accessibility is not just about ramps and elevators. It covers transportation, healthcare access, employment, housing, and whether a building, a bus route, or a government office actually works for the person trying to use it.

The need is real and measurable. In Oneida County, 11.6 percent of residents under age 65 live with a disability, based on 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Add in aging residents, since more than one in five county residents is 65 or older, and the number of people who may face some kind of accessibility barrier grows even larger.

Rural stretches of Herkimer County face their own version of the problem. Long travel times, limited public transit, and fewer specialized service providers can turn small barriers into major obstacles for people trying to reach medical appointments, jobs, or basic errands.

Two Ways to Get Involved

United Way built the GAP Map Project around two separate but connected workshop series. Both are free, and both are open to registration now.

GAP Map Series Workshops for Organizations and Professionals

These sessions are aimed at the people and institutions that shape daily life in the region, including businesses, nonprofits, healthcare providers, government agencies, schools, housing organizations, transportation providers, faith leaders, first responders, employers, and human service organizations.

Oneida County sessions:

• Dates: August 25, September 1, November 3, and December 1, 2026
• Time: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• Location: Community Foundation, 2608 Genesee Street, Utica

Herkimer County sessions:

• Dates: August 27, September 3, November 5, and December 3, 2026
• Time: 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
• Location: The ARC Building, 420 E. German Street, 2nd Floor, Gateway Center, Herkimer

Organizations and professionals can register at gapmapseries.paperform.co.

Community GAP Map Workshops for Residents

These sessions are built for the people living the experience firsthand: residents with disabilities, family members, caregivers, community advocates, and anyone who wants to see a more inclusive Mohawk Valley.

Oneida County session:

• Date: September 29, 2026
• Time: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• Location: Community Foundation, 2608 Genesee Street, Utica

Herkimer County session:

• Date: October 1, 2026
• Time: 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
• Location: The ARC Building, 420 E. German Street, 2nd Floor, Gateway Center, Herkimer

Community members can register at gapmapcommunity.paperform.co.

Voices Behind the Initiative

United Way leadership frames the GAP Map Project as a matter of respect as much as data collection. Interim CEO Sarah Macri said building a resource that reflects both professional expertise and everyday reality requires collaboration from every corner of the community.

“By bringing together organizations, professionals, and residents with lived experience, we’re creating a resource that reflects both expertise and everyday reality,” Macri said. “The GAP Map will help connect people to accessible spaces while identifying opportunities to make our communities even more inclusive.”

Breland struck a similar note when describing why the project splits organizational and community voices into separate tracks, telling WKTV there is danger in always assuming everyone’s needs are already known.

Why This Matters Beyond the Workshops

The GAP Map Project is not just an internal planning exercise. Once complete, the map is meant to function as a public resource, helping residents find accessible locations while giving local leaders a clearer picture of where investment is needed most.

That kind of tool could carry real weight in a region still working to modernize aging infrastructure and stretch limited public dollars. A map built from direct community input gives local governments, nonprofits, and businesses a data-backed case for where to prioritize accessibility upgrades, rather than relying on complaints or guesswork after the fact.

It also reflects a broader shift happening across the nonprofit sector nationally, where organizations are increasingly asking the people closest to a problem to help define the solution rather than designing programs from the top down.

What Happens Next

The workshop series runs from late August through early December 2026, giving both organizations and residents multiple chances to participate across the fall. United Way has not yet announced when the completed GAP Map will be published or how it will be distributed to the public, so anyone interested in the finished product should watch United Way of the Mohawk Valley’s website for updates.

If you run a business, work for a local agency, or simply live with a disability or care for someone who does, your voice is part of what makes this map accurate. Register for a workshop, show up, and tell United Way what access really looks like in your corner of the Mohawk Valley. The gaps only get closed once someone points them out.