Handicapped Housing Is a Community Need

So Thomas Sullivan considers requiring accessibility in new home construction in Santa Monica to be catering to a “special interest” (“Building Incentives for Handicapped Housing,” letters, Dec. 8). He claims the real problem is affordable housing for the poor and working-class people of the region. What he fails to acknowledge is that this need is greatest for those who are both poor and disabled (as a demographic group, people with disabilities are disproportionately poor) and for those who are both working-class and disabled.

While it’s true that there isn’t enough affordable housing in general, at least those who don’t require accessibility features can choose from any available unit they can afford.

Not so for the wheelchair user who can’t get in the front door, or down the hallway, or into the bathroom--or for the wheelchair user’s family.

A wheelchair user can’t even visit a friend who lives in an inaccessible home. Some people who develop disabilities may be forced into nursing homes not because they need extensive medical care but because they can’t find accessible housing in the community.

Laura Remson Mitchell

Winnetka