Book 10 days ahead · 48 hours for medical
ASL and live captions
A roster of 31 certified interpreters and six CART captioners. Deaf and DeafBlind members choose who they want, from people they already know.
Open Access Collective · Madison, Wisconsin
Step-free doors.Captions on.Interpreters booked.A quiet room.Disabled-led.
We are a disability-led collective on Atwood Avenue. We book ASL interpreters and live captioners, lend ramps and hearing loops for free, walk through buildings with the people who run them, and host meetups where nobody has to explain their body.
In plain words
What we do, one idea at a time
We help disabled people in Madison get the access they need. We find sign language interpreters and captioners for events. We lend equipment like ramps and hearing loops. We do not charge disabled people for any of this.
We also help churches, shops and venues fix their buildings. Two of our members visit, walk around with the owner, and write a short list of what to fix first. And every Thursday evening we just hang out.
What we do
Four services, free to disabled residents
Organizations pay for interpreters and walk-throughs at cost. That money keeps everything else free.
See the full gear list
Pick-up Tue 3–7 PM · Sat 10 AM–1 PM
The gear library
Portable ramps, hearing loop kits, shower chairs, a stair-climbing wheelchair and forty other things nobody should buy for a one-off. No doctor's note.
For churches, shops and venues
Access walk-throughs
Two members walk your building with you, from the bus stop to the restroom, and send a costed list of what to fix first.
Thursdays 6 PM · Saturdays 10 AM
Meetups
Board games, an ASL coffee hour, Saturday wheelchair basketball, and a chronic-illness circle that meets on Zoom for the days bodies say no.
2025, counted
Last year in four numbers
January to December 2025, from our booking system and the sign-out book in the garage.
Calendar year 2025
2,9141
interpreter and captioner hours booked
- 1Including 388 hours of tactile interpreting for DeafBlind members.
- 2Portable ramps went out most, then hearing loops.
- 3We go back and check. Most fixes cost under $400.
Figures presented at the annual meeting, February 2026.
From members
What changed for people
I asked for an interpreter for my graduation at Madison College and got Abby, who I've known since high school. I didn't have to explain a single thing.
Our ramp met code. It also ended at a door nobody in a chair could open. The walk-through found that in four minutes.
We borrowed a ramp for Grandpa's ninetieth. It was back on the shelf by Tuesday, and nobody asked me for a single form.
Calendar
Coming up
Oct15
Thursday Social: board game night
6:00 PM · Atwood Ave front room
Ticket to Ride in large print and a braille Uno deck. Snacks labeled for allergens.
Oct17
ASL coffee hour
10:00 AM · Back patio, or the front room if it's cold
Voices off. Signers of every level welcome, including complete beginners.
Oct22
Captioning 101 for church tech teams
7:00 PM · Zoom, captioned
How to turn on live captions in YouTube, Facebook and Zoom, and when to pay a human instead.
Nov3
Election Day: rides and help at the polls
7:00 AM – 8:00 PM · Call to book
Accessible rides to your polling place and a member who knows the accessible voting machine.
Nothing in that category this month.
Running an event? Book access before you print the flyer.
Most interpreters book up two weeks out, and an access line on the flyer tells people they can come.