About 20% of Americans are disabled in some way. But most new homes built in Ohio don't include elements for the disabled.
Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports on a bipartisan effort to get the state to offer $5,000 grants so builders will start adding them.
Wider doors, sloping entries without steps, lower countertops….those are some basic examples of features that can be built into homes designed for people with disabilities. Yet most homes that are built do not include these features. Why? Ohio State University Professor Emeritus Jack Nasar says there are two basic reasons…..additional costs and aesthetics. But he says a new study he’s conducted shows prospective home buyers want features like these in the homes they buy.
“They thought they’d buy them, they thought they would sell faster and they also thought they would enhance the livable qualities of the house,” Nasar said.
Rosemarie Rossetti of Columbus says she knows the value of these features. She said she could no longer live in her former home once she became wheelchair dependent.
“The family had to build a temporary ramp just to get me in. And it was like the luge in the winter Olympics. It was not self-sufficient and independent. I always had to have someone pushing me into and out of the house,” Rossetti said.
So Rossetti moved into a new house that was built with her physical needs in mind. She says the features that make her house accessible for her wheelchair also are beautiful. She now consults with others on how to build houses that work for everyone, regardless of abilities. Two Statehouse lawmakers are hoping more Ohioans will renovate their homes to make them more accessible to people with disabilities. Republican Representative Cheryl Grossman says she realized first-hand the importance of having an accessible home three years ago.
“I did not realize until I tried to maneuver in a wheelchair through our house how difficult it is even to get in the front door. We do a family dinner on Sunday nights at our house and my 97 year old mother joined us this past Sunday. She is walking with a walker now and again, the challenges that people face are very, very difficult,” Grossman said.
Democratic Representative Mike Stinziano says his grandparents had to move out of a home they loved because the house was not accessible for them when they developed disabilities in their golden years. He says the state has a vested interest in making sure Ohioans with disabilities are able to stay in their own homes or visit their close family member in theirs. And that’s why he says this legislation would not be limited to just people who already have disabilities.
“So if it’s the family member who went out to get a grab bar for the shower, a ramp or to widen a door, you would pay that cost up front and then seek reimbursement through the grant program,” Stinziano explained.
Stinziano says the money would also be available to residential builders who decide to put these features into new homes. Vince Squillace with the Ohio Home Builders’ Association says there are a lot of things builders can do as far as accessibility is concerned. But he says it’s important to remember there are a lot of disabilities that could be addressed in home design.
“It would be very difficult for a home designer to contemplate the all possible disabilities and disability needs in all homes that are built,” Squillace said.
Squillace says homeowners should think about what they want in terms of accessibility before building a home and let the designer know up front so they can incorporate those features with the minimum amount of cost. Squillace says his organization has worked with lawmakers on this bill and thinks it’s a good way to encourage more Ohioans to make their homes more accessible. And advocates for the elderly note that Ohio has the 7th largest population of people over 60 in the country, and as the state’s population continues to get older, more people are likely to need these features in their homes.
