The Wheelchair Friendly RPG Trailer

Please help spread the word: http://www.gofundme.com/rpgtrailer - I am running group and one-on-one non-adapted role-playing games, and also design adapted role-playing games using recreation therapy methodologies, for various special-needs populations, all without charge to participants. For years I have been doing so throughout the greater Spokane & Cheney, Eastern Washington areas.

I am trying to further the reach of these efforts to special-needs populations beyond just this limited geographic area, including to rural areas and groups that do not have sufficient (or any) facilities or resources to experience the many benefits of participation in tabletop, live-action (LARP), or computer-based role-playing games.

I have been volunteering extensively for many years. I am registered with the Washington State Department of Health as a Recreation Therapist. I am also currently a student at Eastern Washington University (EWU) working on a degree in recreation therapy, music therapy, neuroscience, & research psychology, and planning to sit for the NCTRC CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) exam. I am a member of WSTRA & ATRA. The populations I have been working with include (but are not limited to): Autism spectrum (ASD) youth & adults, ASD toddlers at Eastern Washington University, ADD/ADHD, Cerebral Palsy (CP), brain injury (stroke, TBI, etc.) & Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients at Saint Luke's Rehabilitation, at-risk youth, the Eastern Washington Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing (EWCDHH), the Deaf community in general, Parkinson's patients at Rockwood Clinic, Boy Scouts of America day camps, Campfire USA's Camp Dart-lo, HIV/AIDS patients at Doxie Hatch long-term care facility (Utah), developmentally delayed & intellectually disabled patients at Hillcrest Care Center (Utah), senior citizens at assisted living and long-term care facilities in Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, Northern Utah, and others.

More about Hawke Robinson: http://rpgresearch.com/staff/hawke-robinson

There are already many individuals and groups throughout Eastern Washington & Idaho, as well as Seattle, Tacoma, and other states, that have indicated they are just waiting for me to be able to provide these sessions as soon as I can find the means to do so. After significant research it is clear that the best way for this to be accomplished is by building a wheelchair friendly trailer as a mobile office gaming facility. This "RPG Trailer" will make it much easier to provide role-playing games to a much broader geographic area and to under-served locations and populations.

There is now have a fundraiser underway to help achieve this goal. http://www.gofundme.com/rpgtrailer

The funding goal is for the down payment and transportation costs of a portable office (trailer) that is fully wheelchair-accessible for participants. This trailer would completely replace the need for the expensive offices in different cities/towns as gaming rooms, or the various insufficient facilities (many gaming stores, schools, churches, community centers, etc.) that are inadequate/sweltering/uncomfortable/noisy and/or not wheelchair friendly, and make affordable for me to provide sessions in rural areas that are completely lacking any facilities. After the down payment, the monthly cost of the trailer is less than my monthly office costs.

Many years of research provides significant indicators that participation in role-playing games can inherently provide many benefits to participants, and can also be a very powerful tool to help with the development and rehabilitation of many individuals and groups from a wide variety of populations. http://www.rpgresearch.com

It has also become increasingly clear that role-playing games are an excellent modality for intervention using therapeutic recreation / recreational therapy methodologies to meet the needs of specific clients' development and rehabilitation goals.

For more information about the potential benefits of participation in RPG, you can view my 90 minute presentation video at Seattle Children's hospital from April 2015 for the Washington State Therapeutic Recreation Association with a comprehensive overview of role-playing games, and more information about how role-playing games can be very beneficial to participants.
Here is additional information on the concept (including simulated photos):
* The RPG Research Trailer - http://rpgr.org/blog/rpg-research-trailer-flyer
* The Two Bards Podcast Mention The RPG Research Trailer - http://rpgr.org/blog/two-bards-podcast-mentions-rpg-research-trailer
* Early vision of the trailer - http://rpgr.org/blog/a-vision-of-the-rpg-research-trailer
* Additional Trailer information - http://rpgr.org/blog/the-rpg-research-trailer-updated-information

http://www.rpgresearch.com/the-rpg-trailer

If people could please help spread the word (and consider donating even a just a few dollars), it would be very much appreciated and really help toward making the RPG Trailer a reality that will benefit many people in under-served populations & locations. Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this, helping spread the word, and donating!

Here is a link to some examples of my Recreation Therapy adapted RPGs to help Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) toddlers, youth, & adults, at-risk youth.
The RPG Trailer will make it much easier to provide role-playing games to a much broader geographic area and to under-served locations and populations. It will include a fully ADA compliant, wheelchair friendly bathroom (toilet, sink, & shower), an easy-access rear entrance ramp, an option for a lower ride-height to reduce the steepness of the angle of the ramp, flaps on each end of the ramp to smooth out rolling over it, easily removable table and flip-up couches (that can also double as flip-down beds),

This includes all forms of role-playing games: (tabletop, live-action (LARP), and computer-based)

For tabletop, the trailer will accommodate up to 6 participants in wheelchairs at a time, or up to 10 non-wheelchair players.

For LARPing, in addition to being able to haul a lot more LARP-related materials (they can quickly take up a lot of space), additional features can be added such as exterior lighting (for night sessions), exterior shower (cool off on the hot days), external awning to add extra space for setting up gear in the shade, and of course a toilet, shower, sink, fridge, etc. so that those lengthy LARP sessions at remote locations can still have "facilities" better than those nasty "honeybuckets" port-a-potties at some places.

For computer-based RPG, I have 4+ consoles (Wii, PS/2, etc), and several PCs that can allow for various targeted goals of guided video gaming for specific needs (TBI for example).
The funding goal is for the down payment and transportation costs of a portable office (trailer) that is fully wheelchair-accessible for participants. This trailer would completely replace the need for the office gaming rooms. After the down payment, the monthly cost of the trailer is less than my monthly office costs.

You can see photos of a mock-up of the proposed trailer design (rough approximation), and explanations about the features for wheelchair access and other requirements here:
http://rpgr.org/blog/the-rpg-trailer

I have RPG program plans designed, waiting to be implemented, for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients, and am also in the early stages working with others on developing program plans for people diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Some of these programs are on hold until the trailer is available.

I am registered in Washington State as a Recreation Therapist (though not yet a CTRS) with the Washington State Department of Health (Credential RE#  60526204 ), have acquired my Mental Health First Aid certification, and have established RPG Therapeutics as a Washington state LLC.

My Name is Hawke Robinson. I reside in Spokane, Washington. I am a student nearing completion of an  interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Recreation Therapy, Music Therapy, Neuroscience, & Research Psychology at Eastern Washington University (EWU). I am a single parent of three teenage boys.

The total for this fund drive covers the down payment on the trailer. It also takes into account the 5% for gofundme's site charges, the additional fees for each donation, as well as gas to drive down and pick up and return with the trailer. The total cost of the portable office trailer is $25k for the stripped model that is still wheelchair friendly, and up to $40K for the features such as air conditioning, generator, stabilizers, etc. I can easily afford the monthly payments, it is just the initial down payment costs that are a challenge.

Once I have the down payment, it will take them 6 to 12 weeks to build the trailer (in Mesa, Arizona). The more money I can raise for this program, the more people I can continue to provide free RPG sessions to across a broader area.

Many thanks to everyone for their support and kindness!

-W.A. "Hawke" Robinson

The following donor levels are to provide a rough guideline of ways to thank those that donate if we succeed in funding this effort and making The RPG Research Trailer a reality:

$25+
If fully funded, all donations of $25 USD or more can be listed (with your permission) on the RPG Research website's List of Donors to say thank you for generous help in turning this vision into reality.

$100+
If fully funded, all donations of $100 USD or more can be listed (with your permission) on the RPG Research website's List of Donors, AND your name mentioned in the thank you video on the RPG Research Youtube Channel http://youtube.com/rpgresearch
$250+
If fully funded, all donations of $250 USD or more can be listed (with your permission) on the RPG Research website's List of Donor's, AND your name mentioned in the thank you video on the RPG Research Youtube Channel, AND added to the "Thank You" Donor Placard that will be in clear view on the inside of the trailer.

$500+
If fully funded, all donations of $500 USD or more includes all of the options from the lower donor levels, PLUS your name listed on the outside of the trailer (with your permission) saying Thank you, (with other donor names of this donor size if applicable on a single 24x36  sign or painted on directly) near the RPG Research Logo on one side of the trailer.

$1,000+
If fully funded, all donations of $1,000 USD or more includes all of the options from the previous donor levels, plus your name listed with a "Thank you", on all three sides of the trailer, AND if you are within 500 miles of Spokane, Washington, or anywhere within 500 miles of the route between Spokane and Mesa, Arizona (where the trailer is built), after I pick up the trailer, if scheduling permits, I can swing by on the way back to Spokane to show you the trailer that you helped make a reality, for a visit of up to two hours (if you wish).

$2,000+
If fully funded, all donations of $2,000 USD or more includes all of the options from the lower donor levels, PLUS (if you wish) if able to visit you within that 500 mile radius from the route, can run a tabletop role-playing game session for you and your friends (up to 6 players) for up to 6 hours, as a huge thank you for making this a reality. If you are outside of the 500 mile reach of the route, and if all funding costs are met and you wish to donate additional funds to cover the additional travel costs to your location, I would be happy for the opportunity to come to you, calculating roughly 10 miles per gallon for gasoline (roughly $3.50/gallon currently) for the distance round trip.

Any additional funds beyond the down payment and travel costs will be applied entirely toward paying down the principle on the loan balance for the rest of the cost of the trailer (up to $40,000 USD).