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A teal colored square with the words: According to the CDC, 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. is living with a disability.

The Importance of Accessible Housing

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Stronger Together Newsletter – Fall 2024

In 2006, I suffered a spinal cord stroke.  There was no warning and no one knows why it happened. Anything can happen to anyone at any time; everything changed for me that day. 

EMS took me from my bathroom floor to the emergency room.  After surgery, I was admitted to the ICU, and a week later I was transferred to Louisville’s inpatient rehabilitation hospital, Frazier Rehab Institute.  I couldn’t move or feel anything below my solar plexus and suddenly I was a wheelchair user. 

After 3 weeks in Frazier Rehab, with discharge looming, one of my immediate concerns was:  How am I going to get into and live in my house? I was lucky because my family could help me renovate my house quickly but many people do not have that support and face the vexing problem of finding usable housing.  According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which analyzed the Census Bureau’s 2019 American Housing Survey, only about .15% of housing units in the U.S. are wheelchair accessible.

A teal colored square with the words: According to the CDC, 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. is living with a disability.
A bright blue square that includes the words According to the CDC, 1 in 7 adults in the U.S. has a mobility disability.
A black square with the words: Only 9.15% of homes in the U.S. are wheelchair accessible.

What is Accessible Housing?

For everyone who experiences a disabling injury, illness, or accident, inaccessible housing is a fundamental concern.  To live independently, the MINIMUM that a wheelchair (or other mobility aid) user needs is:

  • Usable doors – especially a zero-step entrance to the home (e.g. a ramp).
  • Usable bathroom – a wide enough doorway and the ability to transfer to the toilet and use the shower/bathtub.
  • Usable kitchen.

State building codes and the federal Fair Housing Act require some accessible elements in a portion of multi-family housing units.  Some states have building codes that require more accessibility than others (e.g., 5% of units in Washington compared to 2% in Ky).  No federal law requires accessibility in single-family houses, although some localities require some accessibility features– such as areas with “visitability” laws.

Wheelchair-accessible bathroom examples:

A picture of an accessible bathroom with a toilet located in a corner with two drop-down grab bars on each side, and enough room next to it so one could transfer from a wheelchair, and a sink with room for a wheelchair to roll under it. It also has storage for towels that goes low to the ground and can be reached by a wheelchair.
A black line diagram of an accessible bathroom that shows room for the door to open and a wheelchair to roll in, turn around space between the toilet and bathtub, and the toilet located in a corner with enough room next to it to transfer from a wheelchair.,
A picture of a wheelchair accessible bathroom that has a roll-in shower with grab bars, a sink with room to roll up underneath it, and a toilet with a grab bar and enough room beside it to transfer to and from a wheelchair

People with disabilities are the largest “minority” group in the U.S. (27%), the second largest in the Louisville Metro area (14.1%), where Gathering Strength is located, and 35% of the adult population in Kentucky. The most common cause of disability in the U.S. is aging, the U.S. population is aging at a very high rate, and mobility disabilities are the most common.  This means a significant number of people in the U.S. need accessible housing, and the number is increasing.

Whether you or a family member experience a disabling condition or not, wheelchair-accessible housing is good for everyone.  It creates:

  1. Safety and independence for a lifetime – age in place and avoid nursing homes.
  2. Flexibility and comfort – open and adaptable space serves different tastes and needs.
  3. Livability and “visitability” for all – no family, friends, or visitors are excluded.
  4. Increased use value – appeal to more future owners – people of all ages and abilities.

Precise data is not consistently available in states and cities (e.g., Louisville, Ky) showing the number of people who need accessible housing or the current supply of accessible housing — yet.  Gathering Strength plans to collect this data for the Louisville area so we can demonstrate the great need for accessible housing and measure progress toward that goal.

Recognizing the importance of accessible housing, in 2024 Gathering Strength has:

  1. Increased our expertise and capacity to provide accessible housing consulting, and spoke at two housing and advocacy summits educating the public and other stakeholders and subject-matter experts
  2. Partnered with Mattingly Edge, a nonprofit that also serves people with disabilities in Louisville, to develop a policy agenda that will increase accessible housing in Louisville and across Kentucky.
  3. Advocated for affordable housing funders to incentivize affordable housing developers to build more accessible housing units.

How you can help:

  1. Contact your local representatives and let them know you support “visitability” ordinances and changes in zoning rules to allow more multi-family affordable and accessible housing including “Middle housing.”
  2. Add some no- or low-cost accessible housing elements in your current home such as lever handles on doors, single-lever water control on sinks, and pull-out cabinet organizers.
  3. If you build a home, incorporate elements of accessibility (e.g., required in multi-family housing) and aspects of universal design.  See a range of options in  The Kelsey’s design manual.
  4. Educate your friends and neighbors about the need for accessible housing. When discussing affordable housing, refer to “affordable and accessible” housing.
  5. Support our work!

Together we can make it happen.

— Elizabeth Fust, Founder and Executive Director.

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