A group of citizens concerned with accessibility and affordability of Jefferson City's housing formed a committee Monday morning and are looking for community partners to address their concerns.
This was the second meeting of the Accessibility Group, which met at the Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC). It is still in the early stages of discussing plans to make city housing more accessible and affordable for everyone, said Jeremy Murray, Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator of the IRLC.
The group plans to work with city groups that consist of people with disabilities, service partners, medical providers, business leaders, civic organizations, developers, landlords and more for providing more accessible housing for the disabled and building code evaluations.
"The meeting that happened today is kind of a passion of mine," Murray said. "I want to make the community of Jefferson City more accessible to everyone. I want a more accessible, a more inclusive community for everyone... Where this group came from is different people from the community getting together, seeing what we can do to educate about accessibility."
Murray recently moved from his home of 12 years to a more accessible house. He implied that it was because he was getting older. The group agreed during the meeting that many people don't realize that as they age their mobility decreases, often resulting in disabilities.
Murray said that accessibility was not just people with mobility issues, but those with sensory disabilities as well, such as the hearing and seeing impaired. He also said a large group of the city's population is baby boomers, and as they age they will have both issues. That combined with the trend of the elderly population wanting to live in their private residence, rather than nursing homes, makes accessibility imperative, Murray said.
"It is not just so that one apartment can be rented to just one type of person," Murray said. "Integration among people is not just saying only people with mobility issues can live in this building and people with sight disabilities can live in this one. It is about getting the whole building integrated."
The group's meetings are open to the public. Lauren Henry, neighborhood service specialist for the Jefferson City Planning and Protective Services Department, and Edwin Cooper, affordable housing consultant for the Department of Mental Health, attended the previous meeting. Before that, the group spoke with the Jefferson City Housing Authority, Murray said.
"We all know that housing needs to be accessible and affordable," Cooper said. "We are trying to form a committee to do affordable housing in Jefferson City.
"This is just a local group, they have groups like this all over the state, so this is not uniquely for Jefferson City. We are just starting the discussions, so we are just listening to what everyone has to say."
During the meeting, the group voiced concerns about the stigma of accessibility issues from people and organizations associated with property development.
One group member, B.J. Davis, who relies heavily on a wheelchair for mobility, shared a story about trying to hand out flyers in a couple of neighborhoods.
He said that many of the homes were split-level housing with stairs leading up to the front door, so he would not have been able to distribute the flyers to those residents without aid.
"It is about a change in culture," Davis said. "We don't think about it unless it affects you on a personal level."
Davis explained the culture change is to get people to realize how disabilities can affect all people and that many who are disabled may not identify with others that have different conditions. Perfectly healthy 30-year-olds have no problem getting up the stairs, until they accidentally break a leg and realize they cannot get into their house anymore, he said.
He also told the group about times when he would address crowds and ask if anyone had a disability, to which few replied yes. But, he would ask who had rheumatoid arthritis, which can greatly effect mobility, and nearly to half his audience would answer yes.
"Accessibility is for anyone," he said during the meeting. "We want to make a place anyone can live for the rest of their life."
To attend one of the group's meetings or get more information about the group and accessibility, contact Murray at 556-0400 or [email protected].