ReelCommunity Brings Inclusive Recreation to Greater Houston

TIRR Memorial Hermann joined the ReelAbilities Houston Film and Arts Festival and the Walk & Roll for SCI foundation in May to host the second annual ReelCommunity Expo, an event designed to connect people with disabilities and their families with inclusive recreation, arts and leisure opportunities that are available year-round across Greater Houston. More than 35 exhibitors were onsite and more than 200 people attended, surpassing the turnout from the 2025 inaugural event.

ReelAbilities Houston is a citywide festival celebrating the lives, talents and stories of people with disabilities through film, art and music, and TIRR Memorial Hermann served as its lead sponsor. ReelCommunity was developed as a hands-on companion event at the festival, enabling attendees to discover activities and resources in their communities. The Walk & Roll for SCI foundation, the sponsor of ReelCommunity, was founded by Jeffrey Feinstein, a former TIRR Memorial Hermann patient who had sustained a spinal cord injury in 2018, and his wife Alli. They identified a need for greater community inclusion for people with disabilities. Catherine Murray, rehabilitation director at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and Adele Henry, quality manager at TIRR Memorial Hermann, served as co-chairs of the event alongside Feinstein.

An Expo for Everyone

ReelCommunity is open to everyone, regardless of ability, and welcomes attendees with physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities along with their families, friends and caregivers. The Expo format sets it apart from a traditional resource fair; in addition to informational booths, the event brings together community partners, nonprofits and recreational organizations in one space where people can physically engage with activities and try out new equipment. For the 2026 event, the organizers engaged The Zone, a facility with three full-size basketball courts. One court hosted the community partners, and the others were dedicated to hands-on activities, including inclusive pickleball, lacrosse and fencing, with sports chairs available so able-bodied attendees could participate from a wheelchair.

“The intent is to allow people to learn about what all these opportunities are, so that they can go do things with their loved ones, their family, their friends, and not feel like they have to go to a special place with special equipment to do an activity,” Murray said.

Community partners at the 2026 event represented a wide range of interests. For example, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department brought a live baby alligator and shared information about the agency’s adaptive wheelchairs, which are available free of charge at Brazos Bend State Park and other Texas state parks. Ability Skateboarding offered an inclusive skateboard for attendees to try. The Houston Railroad Museum provided a tactile play experience accessible to children with visual impairments. The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts showcased its sensory friendly performance offerings, and the Lincoln Leaders Foundation presented its structured career development cohorts for individuals with disabilities. Several participating organizations were founded by former TIRR Memorial Hermann patients, including foundations focused on spinal cord and brain injuries. James Coney Island donated food for the event, and Rita’s Italian Ice contributed a portion of its proceeds.

“One of my favorite stories from this event is about Angel Ponce, the director for the Houston Office for People with Disabilities,” Adele Henry recalled. “He has used a wheelchair since sustaining a spinal cord injury, and last year came to our event. He had never played pickleball in his life, and we volunteered him to play pickleball, so he played with his fiancée. Then this year, he served at a table for the Office for People with Disabilities, and he was leaving early. I said, ‘Angel, where are you going?’ And his fiancée said, ‘We’ve got to go; we’re meeting our friends at Chicken N Pickle in Webster to play pickleball!’ It was a very full-circle moment—just 100% the purpose of the event.”

Year-Over-Year Growth

In its first year, ReelCommunity was co-located with another ReelAbilities event in a more constrained space. Moving to The Zone facility this year enabled the organizers to significantly expand programming.

The 2026 event drew a greater proportion of individuals with disabilities and their family members and friends who came to learn alongside them. Patients being treated at TIRR Memorial Hermann also went on an outing to visit the event.

Connections That Continue

Some of the most meaningful outcomes of ReelCommunity have extended beyond the event. For example, after meeting at the 2026 Expo, Walk & Roll for SCI foundation and Bee Abled, a local peer connection group, began collaborating, leading Walk & Roll for SCI to fund a portion of Bee Abled’s summer programming.

The ReelCommunity organizers plan to return to The Zone for a third Expo and hope to expand educational programming on topics such as accessible travel and job readiness.

Their goal remains the same as when the event was first conceived—to help people discover that their city has more to offer than they may have realized, and to make community participation feel not just possible, but routine.