News
When home becomes a handicap
Cecilia Hawke would like to be able to cook. But her kitchen is conspiring against her.
• Needs unmet
• LifeMark brand to lift standards
From her wheelchair she can just reach the stove. But that's not much use because she can't reach far enough to switch on the elements. If she could, she might not be able to turn them off again.
The cupboards are too high.
"They are built for people who can stand up."
Mrs Hawke, 51, was born with cerebral palsy. She did not walk till she was seven, but once she learned, managed to keep it up for more than 40 years. Then things started to go wrong. She hurt her knee, had a few falls and her ability to walk deteriorated.
"I went from one stick to two sticks. Then I went from two sticks to crutches."
She then moved on to a walking frame. She couldn't bear the thought of a wheelchair and kept trying to walk.
"It was like one day I woke up and I just couldn't walk any more. I had to go into a wheelchair. I got quite depressed."
The constraints of her Upper Hutt home, which she and husband Brian have owned for more than 20 years, meant she could not get out of the house by herself.
"You just can't get the wheelchair down the steps. I couldn't go out or do anything ... I'm quite a sociable person and it was awfully awkward for me."
An occupational therapist came to look at the house.
"They said we could probably get some funding to alter our bathroom. What we originally had was a shower over the bath."
They now have a wet shower area she can use.
The couple decided to use their savings to make other changes.
"There is more to life than just using the bathroom."
They have knocked down walls, widened doorways and expanded the bedroom.
Mr Hawke said the couple had so far spent more than $50,000 on modifications to the house. Only about $8000 of the bathroom changes had received funding through the Health Ministry. They had considered buying another house but everything they could afford had the same problems.
"We sort of came to the conclusion that it's just easier to stay where we are."
Now, Mrs Hawke can get in to most rooms easily, though her adult children's bedrooms are a little tricky because the doors have not been widened.
The couple went on holiday while builders changed the house. Mrs Hawke had been anxious about leaving it. But she is happy with the improvements. "I can just get on with my life now. Before, I didn't like being at home because it was like being in a jail."
The next step is the kitchen.
NEEDS UNMET
Houses are ill-equipped to meet the needs of burgeoning numbers of disabled people, ageing baby boomers and overweight Kiwis, disability advocates say.
CCS Disability Action chief executive Viv Maidaborn said the biggest problems were people being unable to climb stairs to reach bathrooms and toilets on upper floors, and corridors and doorways that were not wide enough for wheelchairs or walking aids.
She had heard of a family struggling with their home. "One of the members couldn't fit through a 760mm door because they were a big person. We know that obesity is an increasing issue."
Ms Maidaborn told the inaugural housing policy forum in Wellington that people were living longer and expected to be able to live in their own homes. That meant pavements, shops, recreation facilities and houses would all need to be accessible.
According to population projections, one million Kiwis would be over 60 by 2020, she said. Census figures show about one quarter of people have some form of disability.
A report last year by the Centre for Housing Research found current housing stock did not meet the needs of disabled people.
The disabled and the Government spent "considerable amounts" on housing modifications, most of the alterations being "very basic".
On average, respondents who had modified homes spent $13,353 of their own money and received $30,158 in government funding. But discrepancies existed between the amount people who had accidents received from ACC, and those whose disability was caused by illness or disease got from the Health Ministry.
LIFEMARK BRAND TO LIFT STANDARDS
Frustrated after repeated efforts to get changes made to building regulations, CCS started the Lifetime Design Foundation.
Lifetime Design has created a "LifeMark" brand for homes and will encourage people to ask for new houses to be built to its standards, including accessible entrances and wider corridors. Its council comprises representatives of the Registered Master Builders Federation, ACC and other organisations.
This month the foundation will unveil its first home in Hamilton. It aims to have 5000 homes a year built to its standards by 2012.
Lifetime Design's standards for housing include:
* Paths to the house have no steps, are at least 1.2-metres wide, well-lit, stable and slip-resistant.
* Hallways are at least 1.2 metres wide, doors are 86 centimetres wide.
* Light switches are only one metre above the floor.
* Floors are slip-resistant.
* A toilet and bathroom are on the entry level of the house, so stairs are not needed to reach them. The bathroom should have room for a wet area shower to be installed and have strengthened walls to allow hand-rails to be added in the future.
Source: stuff.co.nz