Meir, calif universal regs took effect 2 years ago, but I have yet to
witness it. sigh, why does it always seem like we fight and fight for the
smallest things... Oakland just passed a rule that new town homes have to
use UD. hopefully that will start the process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[log in to unmask]
How can we expect new results if we do what we've always done?
War is outdated for the 21st century!
> [Original Message]
> From: Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 6/28/2005 5:56:58 AM
> Subject: Emailing: 'Come On-A My House'
>
> The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
> attachments:
>
> Shortcut to:
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_disabilitymatters/smith_20050624.htm
> l
> DISABILITY MATTERS:
> 'Come On-A My House'
>
> CBC News Viewpoint | June 24, 2005 | More from Disability Matters
>
>
> This column will feature three writers, each with a different
> disability. They all have something to say about living with a
> disability and how they view awareness and attitudes toward disabilities
> in Canada. The column will deal with the rights of people with
> disabilities, eliminating inequality and discrimination, and issues of
> self-help and consumer advocacy. Our plan is to rotate among our
> columnists to have a new column each month.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> Ed Smith is a retired educator and full-time writer. His humour column
> runs in several papers and magazines and he has had eight books
> published. He has been quadriplegic since 1998. Ed lives in Springdale,
> Nfld.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> I was about five feet off the ground when the slightly less than 585
> pounds of wheelchair and me suddenly and without warning dropped a foot.
> At the same time my heart rose approximately the same distance in my
> throat.
>
> Two things need to be made clear here. First, most of that weight was
> wheelchair. Second, only one side of the chair dropped. Anyone who lives
> in a chair knows this made it infinitely more scary.
>
> I was trying to get out of a friend's house using my 10-inch-wide
> aluminum ramps. There were six steps leading up to the deck from the
> ground. The only way to get up or down was to place one end of my
> 14-foot ramps some distance out from the bottom step (to make the
> incline more gradual) and the other at the top of the deck.
>
> I had managed to get in by cautiously inching up the ramps. The weight
> buckled and swayed them alarmingly, but with the help of two strong men
> pushing we made it to the top.
>
> I was trying to exit the same way, except now I had to control the chair
> down the steep incline. The ramps had to be just the right distance
> apart at the top and bottom, not to mention the middle, to keep my
> wheels from running off them.
>
> I wasn't doing this for the fun of it.
>
> During my 17-month hiatus in rehab facilities in Newfoundland and
> Toronto all I could think of, like most Newfoundlanders who have to be
> "away," was getting back to the Rock. I knew that being quadriplegic
> meant that our lives had changed forever but I was seeing that change in
> rather simplistic terms.
>
> I knew I wouldn't be hiking my hunting and fishing trails through the
> hills anymore. And my wife and I wouldn't be chasing whales and schools
> of fish in our boat and "boiling up" on isolated beaches anymore. I knew
> from now on I would have to hire other hands and feet to do the many
> things I had always done for myself, and that would range from dressing
> in the morning to pursuing my several hobbies and everything in between.
>
> But I wasn't prepared to live my life under virtual house arrest.
>
> We were and are blessed with many good friends. We were going home,
> against the advice of my doctors in Toronto, to a small town on the
> northeast coast of Newfoundland. But the quality of life we foresaw
> there was based in no small part on once more being among family and
> friends. Neither of us was prepared for the grim reality.
>
> I couldn't get into the houses of most of my friends.
>
> Like houses in many other parts of Canada, most Newfoundland homes are
> built on full basements, which lift the house several feet above ground
> level. The entrances are therefore almost always several steps up. My
> state-of-the-art wheelchair could not climb them. The episode with the
> ramps was thus my first attempt to get into a friend's house.
>
> On the basis of that successful entry I was flying high and had a most
> pleasant evening. As the song says, "leavin' wasn't even on my mind."
> Not until, that is, I actually started to leave and had to stare down
> the length of those flimsy aluminum ramps. That was when the chair took
> the frightening lurch.
>
> The bottom end of the left ramp had started sliding out along the grass
> causing the top end to slip off the top of the deck. Fortunately that
> top end just managed to catch on the first step, otherwise ramp, chair
> and I would have fallen in a rather undignified and painful heap. As it
> was I don't know why the chair didn't slip off the ramp or tumble over
> sideways. It was a scary moment for all concerned.
>
> Other friends made heroic efforts to get me into their homes but decided
> the risk of heart attack, theirs and mine, just wasn't worth it. There's
> only one couple whose house we can access on a regular basis and they
> live in Florida half the year!
>
> Pima County in Arizona has the first Inclusive Home Design Ordinance, or
> visitability law, in the U.S. and possibly Canada, as well. The
> ordinance requires that new single-family homes have at least one
> entrance with no step, and doors must be a minimum of 32 inches wide. It
> also states that ground-floor bathrooms should have reinforced walls for
> grab-bar installation, door handles of the lever type and wall switches
> no higher than 48 inches.
>
> It doesn't sound like much but it's a start. With all the talk about
> universal housing being only talk as far as specific regulations are
> concerned, it's good to see at least one jurisdiction prepared to fight
> the good fight for accessible homes. In 2003, the Arizona Court of
> Appeals in a unanimous judgment disallowed a bid by the Tucson Builders
> Association to have the visitability law declared null and void. It's a
> safe bet it won't be the last challenge.
>
> My own gut feeling is that I'll be older than Methuselah's cat before I
> can wheel up to any new home and simply make my way in. But the baby
> boomers are getting older and there's going to be more of us than ever
> who'll want to get into each other's homes, as well as hotels,
> restaurants and other public buildings.
>
> No, such homes won't cost a fortune, and no, it won't be the end of
> creative architecture. In fact, it will be the beginning of new
> challenges to builders and designers as they attempt to accommodate
> those amongst us who want to be as free to be as everyone else.
>
> I wish they'd hurry. Both my heart and my social life are showing the
> strain.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> ^TOP
>
> Jobs | Contact Us | Help | RSS
> Terms of Use | Privacy | Copyright | Other Policies
> Copyright C CBC 2005
>
> Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent
> sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your
> e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
>
|
