About two dozen people took to the streets of Syracuse Wednesday to try and make it easier to get in and out of their homes. People with mobility issues and challenges can have a long wait for housing that meets their needs.
Walking in your front door and going from room-to-room might be something you take for granted. Not so for people who have accessibility issues. They might need wider passageways inside, a ramp outside, or other accommodations. A march from the Westcott Neighborhood down to City Hall was meant to start a movement to raise the issue – and find ways to get more homes either refitted to be accessible or built that way in the first place.
Organizer Nick Holzthum says, like curb cuts on sidewalks, it can help more than the wheelchair bound.
“It wasn’t just people with disabilities that benefited. It was also mothers with strollers, UPS men, so the same applies to accessible housing. It helps when you’re moving stuff in; it helps when you’re older and age so you don’t get trapped in a nursing home; it helps if you become disabled.”
Fellow organizer Karen Gillette knows a landlord renovating older homes and wonders if gains could be made there.
“He’s buying old homes that he needs to gut anyways. Why not take advantage of the funding to remodel and make them accessible.”
Gillette also points out a disabled tenant is a good find for a landlord, because they’ll likely stay in the rental property – if they can get around. She adds they're not pointing any fingers, just trying to raise awareness and get people working together.
The group is calling for more funding to make homes accessible. They also plan a strategy meeting with government, agencies and builders in a month or so. They say there’s a 4-year wait for someone trying to find accessible housing in Syracuse.
