I may be able to get into a building, ride in an elevator, and get into an apartment, but wouldn’t actually be able to live there. Wow.Īs you can see in this image, I’m barely able to fit in the bathroom in my power wheelchair, and it had a bathtub instead of a roll-in shower, as needed by most wheelchair users or people using walkers. It had one studio and one one-bedroom apartment that they considered to be accessible. As part of my search, I toured a brand-new, 98-unit building. I quickly discovered that there are no consistent criteria for what qualifies as wheelchair-accessible. My best chance of finding an accessible apartment with a roll-in shower was looking at brand-new developments, yet that is no guarantee of success. Neither look as if they would work for me. Of the 5,055 current vacancies, there are two apartments that might be available, and might work for someone using a wheelchair. After filtering for low-income, wheelchair-accessible units, and removing the 55+ apartments, because if I wanted 55+, I’d just keep living with my parents. I recently did a search of apartment vacancies in Ramsey County. First, there is simply a lack of accessible and affordable housing. Two years ago, I started a quest to find an affordable, wheelchair-accessible apartment, and ran into too many barriers. I use a wheelchair to move around and a communication device to help me speak. I’m a white man in my mid-twenties, wearing a burgundy shirt. Before we get into the details of the policy change, I would like for you to hear from disability advocate Justin Smith, and how this issue has impacted him. Often, you can only find one or the other, and even that is a daunting task. A major barrier for people with disabilities who want to live in their own home is finding one that is affordable and accessible. We are working on a policy change in Minnesota to address the need for more affordable and accessible housing. The Arc Minnesota promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I am the Public Policy Director for The Arc Minnesota. I am wearing glasses, and I’m wearing a beige sweater. I am a white woman with short brown hair. I’m happy to introduce our next segment, Accessible and Affordable Housing, but first, here is Julia Page to introduce Justin. I’m here today with Justin Smith, citizen advocate, and Representative Liz Reyer. I’m a white male with a mustache, short brown hair, a blue collared shirt, and a blurred background. Featured in the post Advocating Policy Changes for Affordable and Accessible Housing.ĭAVID: Hi, I’m David Fenley, the Minnesota Council on Disability’s ADA Director. Transcript accompanying the video 2023 MCD Legislative Forum: Accessible Affordable Housing on YouTube.
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