Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend!
A Push to Walk client passed along a newspaper story about a man and his company who renovate upscale Manhattan homes, and now he has added accessible and universal design to the services he provides. This would seem a natural area for Martin Watters to focus on – he uses a wheelchair himself. The company is called ADA Lifestyles of New York. Check them out! (http://www.wattersconstruction.com)
This article reminds me of how many people and families affected by spinal cord injury, paralysis and an array of other disabilities have “normal” homes that become nearly impossible to navigate once a wheelchair is needed. Our own home, a ranch up until a year before Darren’s injury, but now with two stories and lots of steps, had to be changed quite a bit to accomodate Darren’s wheelchair. Outside of providing primary care to a newly injured family member, this is one of the most important, expensive and stressful areas that need to be dealt with.
Our own town of Kinnelon, New Jersey was extremely helpful in getting the renovation project moved along very quickly. The Mayor and Council, our architect, builder and sub-contractors all pulled together to get our project started and completed in record time. But I know many others who are not as fortunate. It is often the cost of such projects that is prohibitive (especially on top of all the other costs if it’s a sudden spinal cord injury), the lack of resources to aid in the design, the workers to do the job. When I hear of people waiting weeks and months just to get a ramp so they can get in and out of their houses safely and easily, it breaks my heart.
In this newspaper article from The Journal News (www.lohud.com), it references how Rockland County, NY has adopted a law with design standards for accessibility and recommends a speedier process for town permit applications for modifications. Sounds like some good progress, and perhaps other counties will follow their lead. I certainly hope so!
I know of a local agency in New Jersey, DAWN (www.dawncil.org) who received funds from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to help people offset costs of certain home modifications in certain counties of New Jersey. I hope there are other resources out there, too, that can help. If you know of any, please pass them along and I’ll be sure to include them in a future post and on our website in the links section (www.pushtowalknj.org).
For now, let’s all think about how we can help make our homes more accessible to visitors in wheelchairs and the little things we can do to help people feel welcome. And if there’s any way we can assist others to find the resources they need to make their own homes more accessible and functional, let’s put our heads together and help! This is an area where people working together can truly make a difference to someone with a disability of any kind.
Cynthia
It’s really a great and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
A man in a wheelchair who incorporates principles of accessibility in his designs would naturally design a setup which he himself could use because he knows how it feels to be unable to move around. A point of view coming from someone who is already in that situation is very helpful because he can give insights on how the areas of a house should be remodelled so that others who might be in the same situation can benefit from remodelled houses suited to their needs.
Legacy Design Build Remodeling
Designing our homes to be more accessible to guests in wheelchairs is just smart – both financially and practically. And consulting someone who uses a wheelchair during the design process can provide many excellent ideas to maximize functionality and accessibility. Read about some excellent universal design ideas for the bathroom at http://legacyaz.com/blog. Great post!
Updating your pool or spa to be handicap accessible can be more affordable than you may think – and can really give disabled friends and family members a great deal of independence. Find out more about remodeling your pool or spa at http://shastapools.com/RemodelingYourPool.aspx. Great post!
Reall nice informative blog. Keep it up this blog in future.
Thanks
Michael