Comforts of Home for the Disabled
Finding an affordable and accessible apartment is typically a frustrating process for people who are hit with the double whammy of having disabilities and low incomes. They often encounter physical barriers such as steps. There is another common and illegal barrier--discrimination--that restricts their ability to rent decent housing. A major local church and a nonprofit organization have built a new complex that will help combat prejudice and provide housing to the disabled, a group long overlooked by most developers.
The need for adaptable accommodations that allow independent living is growing in Los Angeles. As many as 600,000 disabled men, women and children live within city limits. Their numbers are expected to increase dramatically because of a large aging population, the AIDS crisis, the illegal-drug epidemic and an increase in urban violence.
The demand is greatest in low-rent areas such as South-Central Los Angeles. But disabled adults who live on fixed or limited incomes such as state disability payments generally have very few options.
Now they have an option, thanks to the First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church and the Good Shepherd Center for Independent Living, which developed an affordable housing complex that is totally adaptable for tenants with special needs. The 40 apartments were financed with $2.5 million in federal loans earmarked for housing for the elderly and handicapped and $1.4 million provided by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. The public financing guarantees permanent affordability.
The tenants will pay one-third of their incomes--for example, $160 a month--to live in the specially designed one-bedroom apartments in the 2400 block of Western Avenue. Similar apartments rent for three times as much in that area.
The FAME Arms apartments are custom-built. Twelve units are adapted for tenants who use wheelchairs; they feature wide doorways, padded shower seats, special stoves and sinks and low fixtures. Other amenities include balconies, laundry rooms, an exercise room, a community area and a rose garden that are all negotiable by wheelchair.
The first tenants began moving in last week. Four had been homeless. Elderly couples and hearing-impaired and visually impaired tenants are expected to move in soon. There is a waiting list of 100.
The need is still great. FAME and the Good Shepherd Center deserve kudos for making a difference.
