2018 GHIC Innovation Prize Winner: Jason Sigworth

by Benjamin Mellin, Carleton College ‘22

To Jonathan Sigworth, Founder and CEO of More Than Walking and 2018 GHIC Innovation Prize winner, disability rights are human rights: 

“Disability issues are human issues. You can become physically disabled at any moment at any time from a stroke, from a car accident, from a piano falling on your head...When it happens, it's ok. There are a lot of people out there who are ready to support you, and it's not something that we need to be afraid of.”

At the age of 19, Jonathan fell from a cliff in India, leaving him paralyzed below his arms and in his hands. Jonathan spent more than 2 months in rehabilitation in Connecticut, where he met a peer mentor who showed him how to live independently. Jonathan returned to India and directed a short documentary called “More Than Walking” after witnessing how difficult it was for patients with new spinal cord injuries to become independent. In an effort to reach even more people, he later started an organization by the same name. 

More Than Walking is a non-profit whose mission is to “share the path to independent living after spinal cord injury worldwide by recruiting peer mentors and therapists to film stories and technique demonstrations on the path to independence.” Jonathan and his wife, Jessica Bello Capote, created More Than Walking in 2017 to address the challenges and isolation felt by people with new spinal cord injuries. 

Today, More Than Walking uses online peer mentoring and videos to share the stories and experiences of people with spinal cord injuries, as well as provides individualized support to people with these injuries. More Than Walking has built a network of over 70 volunteers with spinal cord injuries who act as peer mentors to others with similar injuries, and produced over 120 videos which have been collectively viewed more than 311,000 times on YouTube.

One of the most important goals of More Than Walking is to show that people with all levels of spinal cord injuries can lead a fulfilling and normal life, and More Than Walking recently reached a milestone of having peer mentors with every level of spinal cord injury. Through online videos posted on YouTube or individual connections, these peer mentors can show both newly injured people and healthcare professionals that it is possible for a person with any level of spinal cord injury to have a meaningful and ordinary life. For example, a peer mentor with More Than Walking named Corey “Pheez'' Lee has high-level quadriplegia and can’t move his body below his neck. Jonathan explained how Corey’s story fits into the organization’s mission:

“[Corey] is a professional rap artist, who runs his own music studio out of his house, [and] is a father with two kids and married. When a physical therapist or an occupational therapist is treating a patient, they can then speak with confidence and say ‘Hey, life is going to be different, but there are ways to live a normal life after injury, no matter how much function you think you have lost.’” 

Not only does More Than Walking provide a wealth of online resources for people with spinal cord injuries; the organization is also able to help people globally on a highly individualized and personal basis, in ways that larger organizations might not be able to. For example, when a gospel musician named Darey from Lagos, Nigeria contacted More Than Walking asking for help last year, More Than Walking was able to “connect the dots” and work with other organizations – Wheels of Happiness (Georgia) and Rebuilding Hope On Wheels Initiatives (Nigeria) – to get Darey the support he needed. Darey was injured in a 2014 bus accident and never received surgery or even a wheelchair. Darey had previously contacted many other organizations, including those in the U.K., U.S., and India, and none had been able or willing to help him. After connecting Darey to the support he needed, More Than Walking recorded a music video of a song Darey had written, performed by Darey, Pheez, and Urgent Care – a charity band from Chicago – to celebrate International Day of Disabled Persons 2020. The video is linked below. 

One of the biggest challenges Jonathan has faced as the founder of a non-profit has been finding people or groups to share ideas with. Jonathan recently became part of a program called Collab New Haven, which gives startup support to small businesses and nonprofits in and around New Haven, Connecticut. 

“It was my first time being part of a cohort like that, and it felt so good to just be able to sit down and go one on one with their mentors and receive some constant mentoring from other people...I didn’t realize how much I needed it. You really can’t just plow through it as a sole entrepreneur. You really need a group of people to be alongside you weekly.”

In the three and a half years since it was founded, More Than Walking has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of individuals with spinal cord injuries by raising awareness, providing resources, and building community. Jonathan has ambitious plans to reach more people and have an even wider impact on people with spinal cord injuries, their families, and caregivers.  In the short term, Jonathan would like to continue to expand More Than Walking’s network of peer mentors to include mentors from every U.S. state. He also hopes to create online instructional course videos for every injury level, including videos from the point of view of a physical therapist. In the long term, Jonathan plans to expand his model to include disabilities such as traumatic brain injuries or amputees, as well as an app that would make the online resources even more accessible. 

Jonathan’s vision, ambition, and empathy have enabled him to create a unique program that has the potential to improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people each year. We are excited to watch More Than Walking expand its impact as it reaches people with spinal cord injuries all around the world with content that is educational, inspirational, and culturally relevant.  

Thank you to Jonathan Sigworth for sharing his insights with Unite For Sight. You can learn more about More Than Walking at https://www.morethanwalking.com/.

Darey’s song, “Brave Mind” can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V5e_uu1vkA.