Mary Martinez eyed a 1,700-square-foot parcel at Founders Square, ground zero for the Portage’s attempt to build a real downtown area, and she imagined where a special swing set or climbing equipment would go.
The neonatal intensive care nurse said Hannah’s Hope Playground could be an all-inclusive playground, where kids can play, interact with each other, get a good workout and grow, she said.
The new playground also will mean parents can watch their special needs children be children without struggling to fit them into swings or explain to their children why they can’t play in a park.
Some equipment will be specially designed to even provide forms of therapy for children who need it, Martinez said.
It’ll be for all children but one, causing an emotional balancing act for Martinez, her family, the park’s planners and anyone who knew Hannah Martinez, who died July 30, 2012, months before she would have attended a special school for children with special needs, Martinez said.
Hannah spent her short life being a kid and shuttling between doctors’ appointments, was 3, her mother said.
“I think it’ll be really cool to see kids out there playing together, families being together,” said Mary Martinez, who became emotional at the thought. “I know that day we open will be bittersweet because Hannah won’t be there, but it’ll be amazing.
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“I have moments when I can talk about and get through it, and I have moments when I just cry about it.”
Martinez and her husband, Mike Martinez, former Portage residents, live in Liberty Township with their two daughters, Haley 10, and 5-year-old Hadynn. Along with friends and family, they launched Hannah’s Hope, a non-profit organization helping buy special equipment and pay for treatments for special needs children, in 2009, when Hannah was a few months old.
The organization, which holds an annual golf outing, bowling tournaments, pop-tab competitions at local schools and an upcoming “A Night Under The Stars” charity gala May 6, to raise money for the playground, provides grants of up to $500 per case.
It began when Mike Martinez thought a golf outing could help a lot of kids, and it raised about $17,500, he said.
“It’s amazing,” Mary Martinez said. “It can be overwhelming sometimes when we look back at what we’ve accomplished. I don’t know even if I even have a word to fully describe it.
“My favorite part is getting a Facebook message or thank you card saying how much whatever we’ve purchased for them has really made a difference for their kids.”
For the uninitiated, parenting a special needs child comes with tons of challenges and decisions most parents never think about, said Kelly Martinez, who isn’t related to Mary and Mike Martinez.
It’s tough to find a place when a special needs kid can be a kid, Kelly Martinez said. Her son Reuben, 9, has a chromosomal disorder and epilepsy that leave him in a wheelchair, but the family is determined to give him opportunities to play just like his two sisters.
“They go out and play and have fun, but, with Reuben I have to be with him constantly,” Kelly Martinez said. “Kids are limited to very few pieces of equipment.”
Some playgrounds have handicap-accessible swing, Kelly Martinez said, but she has to pick Reuben up to put him on the equipment. In other playgrounds, there are ramps that lead to steps or other obstacles for wheelchair-bound children.
But not with Hannah’s Hope Playground and that’s the difference, Kelly Martinez said.
“Reuben’s going to have something he can bring his wheelchair on and do. It’s going to help me save my back and still play with my girls at the same time,” she said. “I think people do put some thought into being accommodating everyone, but I don’t think everyone goes out and finds a special needs family and follows them around. They just don’t know first-hand experience and little tiny details to pay attention to.”
The idea for Hannah’s Hope Playground started when Mary Martinez tried to help Hannah in a playground while waiting between doctors appointments, but the effect of the park can be widespread and life-changing, said Mariann Frigo, one of Hannah’s therapists and director of Jacob’s Ladder, a pediatric rehabilitation center in Portage.
“Typical children do all kinds of activities and groups, but, typically, your special needs child will rarely ever be in Boy Scouts or 4-H or ballet,” Frigo said. “A special playground gives them an opportunity to move and play, and it gives them an opportunity to commune with other kids and for parents, too. It’s so therapeutic for the whole family to be able to spend that time.”
Planning an all-inclusive playground is no small task, but it’s become an obsession for Niki Avina, a Martinez family friend and board member of Hannah’s Hope.
“My big goal here is to dream big and to dream in a variety of ways so we can say when this is all over we’ve met the needs of every child of every possible ability and beyond,” said Avina, a college professor and Highland resident. “It’s a huge undertaking. There’s so much research behind playground design, and management, and how to set it up so kids will play together regardless of age and ability.”
The list of factors to consider in building the playground includes a fence to keep the children safely inside, special ground covering, which can run as much as $500,000, sensory components for autistic children, group swings and much more, Avina said.
Planners also want to install special bar code stickers on the equipment, so parents can scan them with their smart phones and get more information on how to give their children more stimulation and beneficial movements.
The group has selected Sinclair Recreation, a Holland, Mich.-based group, to design the playground and install equipment there, Avina said.
The City of Portage donated the parcel for the project, which will be a city park, and Holladay Properties, the company building The Promenade at Founders Square mixed use development, is donating maintenance money over several years to the cause.
The playground will be bittersweet for anyone who worked with Hannah Martinez, Frigo said, but, in the end, countless kids will benefit from the park, she said.
“For us to see a mom and dad funnel their sadness into something for other kids who are still here, it’s something wonderful for us.”
Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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