Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA) - Charlottesville

Staff is friendly, and ready to help however they can. For example, staff can help open and close any doors, help you find quiet areas if needed, etc.

Their website has lots of great accessibility information

There is some shelving in one of the restrooms at an accessible height.

Bottled water is available if needed and there’s a water cooler.

There are stress balls and other fidget toys in some individual staff offices.

There are four accessible parking spaces, two on each side of the building. Although only 2 spaces are labeled as accessible and only one is labeled as “van accessible,” all spaces meet the dimensional requirements for being “van accessible”.

Each accessible space has a slight cross slope due to the slope of the parking lot itself.

The pavement markings for the accessible spaces have faded significantly.

Both paths to the entrance have a curb cut with yellow truncated domes.

The path from the marked accessible spaces where you first enter the parking lot to the main entrance is slightly more steep, especially at the curb cut area, than the path on the other side of the building, but otherwise both paths to the entrance are relatively flat.

The paths from either side of the building's accessible parking to the main step free entrance at the front of the building are both less than 100 feet in distance.

The accessible step free entrance is on the north side of the road closest to Greenbrier Drive, although there is no sign directing you to it.

There is also an entrance on the opposite side of the building, away from the road, with a staircase leading up to a door which is open and available to the public starting at 7:30 AM, but requires a code to access the door before then.

The accessible entrance door does not have an automatic door opener.

If you need assistance entering the building or the SARA suite itself, visitors are encouraged to call the office at (434) 977-7273.

Immediately inside the step-free accessible building entrance is a bench with the seating surface at an accessible height with a backrest and armrests.

The SARA suite entrance door is on the main entry level, is push to enter, and has at least a 32 inch wide clear width.

Next to the door is some identification signage for SARA with good contrast, but minimal tactile characters and no braille.

On the interior side of the SARA suite entrance door, maneuvering clearance is limited to exit.

The flooring surface of the shared building space and the suite itself is a mix of tile and low profile, compact carpeting with the occasional area rug in the offices.

A few of the individual offices have pathways that are less than 32 inches wide due to the arrangement of furniture- most of which can be easily moved if needed.

There is plenty of seating at accessible heights in the waiting area as well as the offices, although a few offices have seating that is slightly higher or lower than an accessible seating height, and not all seating has armrests.

The reception desk is above an accessible height and some of the pamphlets or informational brochures may be difficult to reach as they are above or below an accessible height, but staff are happy to assist if needed.

Signage, both directional and identification type, is limited or inconsistent, generally throughout, but there are a few offices with individual employee names on signs with decent contrast, but no braille or tactile.

The site is typically not too crowded or noisy.

Most of the office is quiet and each individual office can be turned into a more private quiet space if needed.

All of the windows have blinds that can limit or increase the amount of light coming into a space if needed.

There are two single use restrooms within the SARA office suite which either have a door that is too narrow to enter, and/or have grab bars that are missing from around the toilet.

Light switches in all restrooms are manual and are slightly higher than 48 inches above the floor.

We recommend asking the staff for the code to the single occupant restroom in the building hallway if an accessible restroom is needed.

The door for the hall restroom is quite heavy but the restroom has grab bars around the toilet and an accessible sink with knee space underneath.

Click the black "Accessibility Test Results" button at the top of this page to view in-depth accessibility metrics for this business!