For too many people with disabilities, the door to accessible housing is closed. Accessible Housing Society Calgary has spent the last 50 years prying that door open, working tirelessly to remove residential barriers while advocating to make accessibility top of mind for housing developers and policymakers alike.
The organization evolved in 1974 from a group of young people who refused to allow mobility issues to deny them the same life trajectory as everyone else. With staunch support from their families, these Calgarians broke ground to build Fourth Dimension, Calgary’s first barrier-free group home, and moved into this amazing space in 1976.
“These families wanted to imagine the people they loved having that normative experience of leaving the family home and striking out on their own and learning how to be independent and interdependent,” says Krista Davidson-Flint, executive director of Accessible Housing. “Their hopes and dreams for the people they loved created the foundation of what we do now.”
This original bungalow provided supportive living for 12 residents with mobility issues, and over time Fourth Dimension evolved into Accessible Housing, a non-profit organization and registered charity with unique programs seeking to eliminate obstacles so people with disabilities can thrive.
This innovative residence was so impactful over the years that the organization set out to expand on the model using today’s technology. After a successful capital campaign, the bungalow was torn down and replaced in 2018 with Inclusio, the only multi-unit residential facility in Canada to receive the Rick Hansen Foundation Gold Certification level for high accessibility standards.
Inclusio features 45 fully accessible suites that accommodate limited mobility while at the same time promoting autonomy and independence. Residents pay rent on a sliding scale based on income, and they access home care through Alberta Health Services to ensure their complex medical needs are met while the Inclusio team provides overnight care as well as nutritious home-cooked meals and programming.
“Inclusio gives people a place to call home, where they have dignity and pride of place, and it allows them to get the care they need in the morning in order to live a full life during the day,” says Tara Weber, Accessible Housing board chair.
Every design detail is intentional in this waitlisted state-of-the-art facility, from outdoor heated ramps to extra-wide hallways to adjustable-height counters. App-controlled and voice-activated technology allows residents to turn on lights, adjust blinds, unlock and open doors and turn on the shower, making Inclusio a best-in-class example of what is possible.
As people with disabilities are four-times more likely to be unhoused, the organization also partnered with the Calgary Homeless Foundation on Bridge to Home, an award-winning program that helps individuals with disabilities exit homelessness. This graduated program serves about 60 clients at a time with an average stay of 12 months; the team offers temporary housing while helping clients obtain identification, apply for aid programs and acquire life skills like grocery shopping, taking transit and making doctor’s appointments.
Another long-time program is Chinook House, a partnership with Calgary Housing that created five accessible units in a building near Chinook Centre. Alberta Health provides a range of home care services to residents through the day and then Accessible Housing provides overnight care should they need it.
“The people that live there are very much a part of the community in that neighbourhood so it’s a great model of inclusion at a grassroots level,” says Davidson-Flint.
The challenge lies in finding accessible suites, so the organization now helps people create their own. Through RAD Renovations, the team works with families and individuals in the community that by reason of injury, illness, disability or aging need to make the accessibility changes necessary to stay in their homes. Specialists first assess the space to create a design to accommodate the individual’s needs and then contract with skilled tradespeople to bring that design to life. While clients who qualify for assistance can get government funding for these renovations through RAMP, Accessible Housing is also expanding the program to the greater community.
“For people who don’t require the funding but need some expertise to do their renovation, we started a fee-for-service social enterprise, and any money earned through that would be designated to the lower income clients of the program that need more support,” says Marni Halwas, director of Community and Stakeholder Engagement at Accessible Housing.
The number of people needing support is higher than ever and while the organization takes up a lot of space in the sector, there is more that needs to be done. Accessible Housing relies on grants, funders such as the Alberta Government, and partnerships to keep programs running, and their fundraising initiatives allow them to offer additional accessibility services that fall outside these main programs. At the same time, the team pushes for legislative changes that will help eliminate barriers in the first place.
A key component of inclusivity is accessibility, and the organization advocates for more accessibility standards so clients can participate fully in the community. If more builders accommodated mobility devices in their designs from the start, clients would have more residential options that are integrated in communities.
“As a community, we are only as strong as our most vulnerable citizens and when we all get together and create an environment in which nobody has barriers or deficits and everybody is able to contribute at their full potential, it’s a better society for everyone,” says Weber.
For 50 years, Accessible Housing has worked to make that better society a reality, and the dedicated team is committed to raising awareness and funds to push the needle toward a barrier-free Calgary in the next 50.
Accessible Housing Head Office
Deerfoot Junction III
Suite # 215, 1212-31st Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7S8
Inclusio
1129 23 Ave NW, Calgary, AB T2M 4P5
