Housing for People with Disabilities
The below article was written as a viewpoint for the San Luis Obispo
Tribune after they published a eight part series on housing problems in
the Central Coast. The Paper never published it.
What About Homes for People with Disabilities?
by Gary Ray Rogers
I have read with interest your series "Trouble on the Home
Front" concerning the problems with home ownership in our county. I am
disappointed that you have left out a major problem in home ownership for
one of the largest proportions of our population, people with
disabilities.
According to the latest census 1 out of 5 people in the US have some type
of disability limiting an activity of daily living. Furthermore 1 out of
2 people over 60, the fasting growing population, have some type of
disability. Yet, your series does not address this population.
The difficult problems of finding an affordable home are doubly compounded
if a person has a physical disability. I have personally known people
with disabilities having to live homeless on the street because there are
no affordable homes or apartments that are even minimally accessible to
rent or buy.
One possible solution to this problem is the idea of
"visitability." Visitability is the idea of making homes minimally
accessible. Any newly constructed homes receiving any government
assistance in building, should have a minimum of accessibility
features. These include:
1) One ramp or no-step entrance with an opening of 32 inches.
2) First floor interior passage doors that have a minimum clear opening of
30 inches.
3) Hallways throughout the first floor have at least 36 inches of
clearance and ramped or beveled door thresholds.
4) Reinforcement in the first floor bathroom walls to allow for the
addition of grab bars if needed.
5) First floor light switches and electrical panels at an accessible
height.
The above features when included on new construction add a very minimal
cost of less than $300
Requiring visitable features in new construction is not a new or radical
action. The above design features were taken from Ordinance 981007-A in
Austin, Texas. And many other communities are seeing the benefits of
building homes for everyone.
This visitability or universal access design will benefit all. Most new
homes are already being built with larger hallways and doors. Adding one
ramp or no step entrance will allow everyone to bring in large items or
furniture more easily. For a person with a physical disability that
limits walking, this universal design will allow them to visit the home or
actually live in the home with minimum extra work.
With an accessible home you can have your friends and family easily come
for a visit. Your father or mother who may not get around as well as they
used to can come for the holidays. Homes can last for a hundred years or
more, and the small addition of accessible features will help people for
generations to come.
The problem of no accessible, affordable homes is a huge one and will only
get worse as prices go up and the population ages and a larger percentage
becomes disabled. Passing a visitability ordnance in our County can help.