If you would like to help us create a more accessible community and help guide meaningful improvements, please give us your anonymous feedback.
Livestream and Zoom
Many of our prayer services and other community programs are livestreamed to YouTube and Facebook. Our livestreams and recordings can be found HERE. Some programs, such as weekday and Sunday morning minyan, can be accessed via Zoom. You can find minyan Zoom info HERE.
Parking
Our main parking lot and the Goldberger Youth Center (GYC) parking lot across the street have designated disabled parking spaces. During the High Holidays, we designate many more parking spaces in our main parking lot for people with disabilities. During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, people with disabilities can be dropped off at the upper circle driveway (West side of the building). At all other times, all attendees are to use the entrance from the lower parking lot (North side of the building) only.
Wheelchair accessibility
Doors
Neither our main building nor the GYC have automatic or assisted doors, so people with disabilities may need assistance entering the building. Members of the greeter/security team will be present at the doors during all major services and programs to assist people in entering.
The men’s and women’s bathrooms on the main floor of the main building have button-operated doors.
Accessibility Cart
In the foyer outside of the sanctuary, you will find our accessibility cart. This cart contains audio assistance headsets, transliterated and large-print prayer books, prayer books with Russian and Spanish translations, ear plugs, magnifying sheets with lights, reading glasses, and an iPad. The iPad can be used by people with hearing impairment to watch the livestream of our services with closed captioning. Near the accessibility cart, we keep portable music stands to assist with holding up prayer books during services. Please don’t hesitate to ask a greeter for assistance with accessibility cart items.
Blind and Low Vision
JBI Library: Connecting anyone who is blind, has low vision, or has a print disability to Jewish life. Trouble reading standard print? Get access to more than 14,000 titles in our free, circulating library of large print, braille, and audiobooks with a free audiobook player, liturgical texts, and customized materials to help people participate fully in Jewish communal, literary, cultural, and religious life. Get fiction, History, Short Stories, Humor, Jewish Studies, Poetry, Biographies/Memoirs, Cookbooks, Children’s Books, Siddurs, Machzors, and more, delivered to your doorstep, free of charge. We offer materials in Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Polish, and Hungarian.
We also offer magazines: “JBI Voices” is an audio, braille, large print or emailed compendium of Jewish interest articles from a variety of sources. We also record each issue of Haddasah and Lilith magazines.
JBI Library offers in-person and virtual programs that create connections and engagement in Jewish learning and culture. We also produce an audio “JBI Cultural Series,” offering lectures, concerts, and dramatic readings. Virtual book groups, “Judiasm 101” series, Jewish poetry series, author events, and more!
JBI LIBRARY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by tax-deductible contributions from individuals and foundations, as well as by legacies and other planned gifts.
Learn more at jbilibrary.org, email , or call 1-800-433-1531
Restrooms
Besides the multi-stall, gender-segregated restrooms in our main facility, we have two single-user, all-gender restrooms – one in the office hallway and one attached to the library. The GYC has several single-user, all-gender restrooms on each floor. The men’s and women’s bathrooms on the main floor of the main building have button-operated doors.
American Sign Language Interpretation
We have the capability of providing American Sign Language interpretation, either in person or over Zoom, upon request.
Assistive Listening
Our sanctuary and social hall are equipped with radio frequency (RF) assistive listening systems. RF receivers with earbuds are available on the accessibility cart. Our sanctuary is also equiped with an Auracast assistive listening system. We have one standalone Auracast receiver and connected headphones for use by anyone with hearing aids that are incompatible with Auracast.
Dietary Restrictions
At HEA, we strive to create a welcoming and safe space for every member of our community. This includes those with food allergies and celiac disease. We have a separate table at Shabbat lunch where dietary restriction-friendly foods are served. The allergy-friendly/celiac-safe table is reserved for guests who rely on these foods for medical reasons. Please allow those guests to serve themselves and help keep the food safe by avoiding cross-contamination with utensils, plates, or food from other tables.
We have some ability to accommodate dietary restrictions such as gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance. We cannot guarantee the absence of any particular allergen in the food that is served at the HEA. Please use caution when avoiding food allergens at the HEA. Please contact our office to communicate your needs and discuss possible food options at any program.
Reserved Seats
Our sanctuary, social hall, chapel and youth center have movable markers for reserved seating for people with disabilities and their companions. If you would like us to reserve a particular seat for someone with a disability and/or their companion, please let us know.
Wiggle Room
The “Wiggle Room,” formerly known as the “Cry Room,” is a sound-isolated space where folks can hear and see services in the sanctuary without transferring sound back into the sanctuary. This is a good place to hang out if you or your loved ones want to make a lot of noise during services. During loud community programs in the social hall, such as our Hanukkah concert, the wiggle room is designated as a quiet space where people can go to reduce sensory overwhelm. The chapel, located next to the main sanctuary, also serves as a quiet space option during services.
Early Entry to Programs
Early entry to programs (e.g., concerts or our Community Passover Seder) is available to people with disabilities upon request.
Religious School and Preschool Education Accommodations
To discuss your child’s learning needs at HEArt Religious School, please contact Education Director Mallory Bustow at mallory@headenver.org. To discuss your child’s learning needs at the HEA preschool, please contact Preschool Director Dani Wynn at dwynn@headenver.org.
American Sign Language interpretation is not provided at weekly services. ASL interpreters are available upon request with sufficient advance notice.
There is no direct accessible ramp in the main sanctuary to the upper Bimah near the ark. An adjustable portable Torah table can be made available on the floor level or the lower bima.
Transportation is not provided. At this time, HEA does not currently offer transit to or from the synagogue.
Personal care assistance is not available. Attendees who require personal assistance should plan to attend with a caregiver or companion. One-on-one support is not routinely available. Individual support during services or programs may be available in limited situations with advance coordination.
Real-time captioning (CART) is not routinely provided. It may be available for certain events upon advance request.
If you have accessibility needs not addressed above, please contact us as early as possible by calling (303)758-9500 or emailing Accessibility@HEAdenver.org. We are committed to working with you to identify reasonable accommodations whenever feasible.
