Barrier-free housing

Please allow me to share some relevant information regarding the topic of barrier-free housing (universal design) that I believe would be of benefit to my fellow Christians. In my 15+ years of community health care (two years as an ambulance attendant and 13+ years assisting adults with disabilities) I have been exposed to a number of different types of barrier-free environments and have come to appreciate their many benefits… the most important of which is the ability to remain in your home for as long as you wish. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has the FlexHousing program that discusses topics such as accessible design, healthy housing materials and safety considerations as examples. Given my experience of working for adults with disabilities, I have found the FlexHousing program to be outstanding in content and logic. CMHC refers to FlexHousing as building smart and I think you would agree after reading their publications, some of which are available as a free download or printed publication.
Many of you might think that barrier-free housing is not necessary in your lives but please read on. I strongly believe in preventing rather than reacting/fixing situations and that's why I'm encouraging anyone considering new construction to spend one evening researching CMHC's FlexHousing. I'm quite confident that many of you would much rather spend 2 to 5.5 per cent extra for the basic Flexhousing features during new construction instead of significantly more if needing to renovate later. No one is immune to the possibility of a short-term disability, such as a fracture, and others may develop a chronic health condition.
Many of you have heard the media reports regarding the aging baby boomers and the looming health care crisis. How many of us have had to wait months for a doctor's appointment, whereas ten years ago this was an anomaly? The next 10 to 20 years will heavily challenge our health care system as we begin to care for our aging baby boomers. Many will need to be cared for in their homes as we already have long waiting lists for subsidized and public “institutional” care. The majority could not afford the expensive private facilities. Why not prepare for this reality? The government of Ontario has been increasing community care funding at regular intervals as they have realized the cost effectiveness of home care and positive social benefit (such as a quicker recovery period and psychological benefits as well).
Statistics Canada has indicated that almost three million Canadians currently have mobility concerns and this number will continue to increase as our population ages. Some organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and some housing co-operatives have been proactive in dealing with existing and future housing needs for Canadians with disabilities. As well, some municipalities have begun to address accessibility concerns as part of their municipal accessibility plans. This should naturally increase due in part to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 as it states in Part I, 1(a):
“Developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accomodations, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025…”
and Part II, 4
“This Act applies to every person or organization in the public and private sectors of the Province of Ontario, including the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.”
If the government of Ontario has legislated accessibility in less than 17 years for all environments other than your home, I think it's time to get serious about this reality that will benefit many of us. So why not consider barrier-free/universal design in your new construction? If you're one of many empty nesters thinking of buying a new high-rise condominium unit, some of the accessibility features will already be included due to the Building Code and Planning Act. Why not add a few features to your unit that will guarantee that you will not have to move again if you develop health concerns. Given the cost of real estate, this seems to be a sound financial decision.