DEAR HARRIETTE: Due to my age and health, I move about in a motorized wheelchair. My hips are no good anymore, and it’s just easier for me this way. Part of the village I live in has a steep incline. This hill used to be manageable for me until a new business renovated the incline into stairs. This Mexican restaurant just remodeled the sidewalk into 6-foot-wide steps and left a slim sliver of sidewalk that isn’t a stair. Going onto the road is incredibly unsafe, but I fear I am too close to the curb and steps on either side of me to try to tackle this hill.

I have considered writing a letter to this business, mentioning how it’s upset the disabled community in the village, but I’m afraid we aren’t its demographic anyway. – Not Disability Friendly, Suburban Maryland

DEAR NOT DISABILITY FRIENDLY: You absolutely should write to the restaurant and file a Americans With Disabilities complaint with the United States Department of Justice (ada.gov/complaint). Federal law protects you and all disabled people: It is the law that you should have the ability to maneuver on sidewalks. Public establishments should also offer wheelchair access to restrooms. While it is not always easy to enforce this law, you can certainly try. You may need to engage the media to draw attention to your plight, but do not give up. Your safety may depend on your activism.

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DEAR HARRIETTE: I work with overweight and obese children to help them develop healthy habits in regards to diet and exercise. The center has dance parties (Zumba for children), small cooking classes and a wealth of information and dietitians. We have helped many children, but I am noticing a sad trend. Once children go to about three to four weeks’ worth of classes and workshops, their parents will see immediate improvement and withdraw them. At this point, children gain back the weight and turn into yo-yo dieters. I think that parents are in denial, and once their children experiences a little improvement, they decide it is good enough.

I could never force parents to keep their children enrolled, but we create fun programs and are really trying to make the next generation healthier. An intern mentioned using contracts to keep children enrolled and see long-term weight loss, but I think this goes against our message of wanting willing participants at the center. How can we persuade parents to keep children enrolled after the initial improvement? – Fluctuating Weight and Attendance, Syracuse, New York

DEAR FLUCTUATING WEIGHT AND ATTENDANCE: Instead of contracts, why not consider incentives? Offer gifts to the children if they reach particular milestones of weight loss and fitness activity. You and your company can come up with affordable incentives that are exciting enough to lure children back after their initial success. With the parents’ permission, you can post success stories on a private website that shows parents what sticking with the program will do for their children. It is possible to help some of these children longterm. Don’t give up on them.

— Lifestylist and author Harriette Cole is president and creative director of Harriette Cole Media. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.