SAN ANTONIO – After the death of Mitchell Chang, his mother, April Chang, turned her grief into creating a legacy for her child.
That led to the creation of the Mitchell Chang Foundation, through which she raised thousands of dollars to build an inclusive public park in her community.
After a year of delays, the park is finally set to open in November.
“It is November 30th at 10 a.m. We are having a huge celebration here at Classen-Steubing Ranch Park at Mitchell’s Landing. And we want everyone to come and celebrate with us because honestly, the public has been wanting this for so long,” she said.
The park, located on Hardy Oaks Parkway, will be a one-of-a-kind space for children with special needs. Chang said the park goes beyond the required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for design. A quick tour of the park shows slides with benches at the bottom for children to sit and wait to be transferred back into a wheelchair. The climbing rocks have openings wide enough to fit a standard wheelchair. There’s shade covering the majority of the pirate-themed playground.
“A lot of families don’t realize that, yes, all playgrounds meet ADA standards,” Chang said. “But this park will go beyond the standards. We really hope that this helps other families. And honestly, it’s going to start making other changes in the community because it’s going to start bringing awareness to other families, and it’s going to change children’s perceptions of individuals with disabilities. Normalization starts here.”
The public helped raise much of the money for the park, but the Chang family is also financially invested. She welcomes the recent support from companies interested in helping the park financially. Chang said her focus after the opening will be creating a way to maintain Mitchell’s Landing for future generations.