What Accessible Housing Means for Me | #ForAccessibleHomes News

New #ForAccessibleHomes blog from Habinteg Board member Andy Mack

I joined the Board of Habinteg as a non-executive director at the start of 2017. When I was three, I was struck down with polio. In many ways I was unlucky. It was the early 1970s.  The vaccine should have but didn’t protect me. The virus left me with a weak left hand side and a pronounced limp. The career as a multi-million pound footballer or tennis star, which I feel sure would have materialized, never happened.

Tremendous blow and life changing event that this was, in other ways, I count myself fortunate. I’m still fully mobile, able to drive, use the train or bus relatively easily. I’m comfortable climbing stairs, and my house doesn’t need special adaptations. In short, of the 11.6 million disabled people who live in Britain, I’m one of the fortunate ones.

Others have not been so lucky. The Department for Communities and Local Government found in 2015 that only 7% of homes in England offer even minimum accessibility features. For those who are not as mobile as me, adaptations and accessible housing can make all the difference: enabling disabled people to move for employment, to return home after a hospital stay, or to remain in their homes even where their mobility becomes impaired as they grow older.

Our campaign #ForAccessibleHomes seeks a local and national commitment to the housing needs of disabled and older people. Join our campaign @Habinteg and help make the case for accessibility of new homes a top priority.

For more information on supporting our #ForAccessibleHomes campaign day on  Friday 8 September, please see our supporter page here