For many people with disabilities in Ontario, the search for accessible housing is challenging. Accessibility refers to the way housing is designed, built or modified to enable independent living for people with disabilities. For some people owning their home, this is a matter of renovating or ensuring a new build uses universal design. For others, it means finding an accessible and affordable rental unit – which can involve long wait times and significant compromises on accessibility.
On this episode of Underestimated, presented by Oatley Vigmond Personal Injury Lawyers and brought to you by Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, we’re talking about accessible housing.
Dave Kemp welcomes us into his home to talk about the support received and what made renovations go smoothly for his family after his injury. Dave sustained a spinal cord stroke several years ago resulting in T5 incomplete paraplegia. As a lifelong resident of Simcoe County, at the time of his injury it was important to his family that they remain in their existing house. With a tremendous amount of community support they were able to modify their home to meet Dave’s needs. Dave shows some of the modifications to the original home here. When the time to downsize came Dave and his wife purchased a smaller home and again were able to carry out renovations to allow Dave to have as much independence as possible. He shows the modifications to the current home as well.
Finding accessible housing can be a real challenge – it can take a long time and resources, from community support to your own reserves of patience to financial resources. If this is something affecting you and your family, we can help determine the options in your region. Reach out to info@sciontario.org for support.
