Because we're all different | #ForAccessibleHomes News

When my dad was diagnosed as terminally ill, we couldn’t bring him home because he couldn’t get into his bathroom. He lived in a bungalow but there were steps going up to the front door, making it inaccessible. It would have made such a difference if he’d have been able to come back to his own home. Instead, we had to rent a house for him.

Accessible homes are not specialist housing, they benefit everyone in society, at all stages of life. If you think of a parent with a buggy, if there’s enough room to do a 180 degree turn in a wheelchair, there’s enough to do it with a buggy. Even if you think of our furniture now, it’s much bigger now than it used to, and if the door’s that much wider you can get settees in without having to take the windows out which is what we had to do years ago to get our settee in.

I would like to see more laws in force to ensure an adequate supply of accessible homes. There are guidelines out there, but guidelines are just nice-to-haves, not must-haves. But if you get it right for disabled people, you automatically get it right for everybody. Everyone can be affected by disability – it makes no difference what your race is, what your gender is, what your sexual orientation is. Disability can affect anyone and it can happen at any time.

For more information on supporting our #ForAccessibleHomes Day of Action on Friday 8 September visit our page for supporters. You can support the campaign on social media by signing up to our Thunderclap.

Maureen Lapwood is Head of HR at Habinteg, where she oversees recruitment, training and reasonable adjustments for staff. Maureen has worked at Habinteg for 18 years.