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Grants aid disabled renters
Residents with disabilities, who rent housing, have opportunity to apply for grants enabling them to modify their homeDate published: 8/25/2004
Finding a house or an apartment to rent in the Fredericksburg area can be difficult and expensive. Those with disabilities have an even harder time finding a place that is affordable and accessible, said Rob Boyd, executive director of the disAbility Resource Center on Progress Street. "Universal design has not come to this area," he said. "It has not been embraced by local builders or the population." Universal design incorporates wider doors and other features that make dwellings easier for the disabled to use. Through local government funds, the nonprofit resource center has built ramps and retrofitted homes in Fredericksburg. It doesn't have money to work on homes outside the city. That could change. The Virginia Housing Development Authority recently received grants from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and the state Department of Housing and Community Development to help modify rental units for people with disabilities. The Reeve organization, founded by the paralyzed actor, is committed to funding research for treatment of paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. The VHDA has about $25,000 to distribute to qualified individuals. "These funds can be used for any work needed to make the rental unit accessible for a person with disabilities," said Ann Bolen, a special funding officer at VHDA in Richmond. Fair housing laws require landlords to allow modifications to an apartment to make it barrier-free, but tenants bear the expense, Bolen said. When the tenant leaves, the landlord can also require restoration of the units to its original interior or exterior condition, she said. Under VHDA's program, grant funds up to $1,000 per dwelling unit will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Improvements include wider doorways, grab bars in the bathroom, exterior ramps and placing all light switches at convenient heights, she said. The grants are available to persons earning 80 percent or less of the area median income. Depending on the applicants' address, that can range from $36,100 to $57,500 for a family of four. Census data from 2000 showed the median household income in Fredericksburg as $34,585. In Stafford, median income was $66,809, and Spotsylvania's figure was $57,525. Through the grant program, VHDA hopes to add 65 fully accessible rental units in Virginia this year, Bolen said. Eligible Fredericksburg-area residents are advised to contact the disAbility Resource Center to apply for the grant, she said. If approved, an individual has five months to do up to $1,000 in modifications to their homes. VHDA will pay the contractors directly, she said. For more information, call the disAbility Resource Center at 540/373-2559 or visit VHDA's Web site, vhda.com. To reach JESSICA ALLEN: 540/368-5036 jiallen@freelancestar.com
Date published: 8/25/2004
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