ACCESSIBLE HOUSING SHOULDN’T BE THIS HARD TO FIND

🏠♿ ACCESSIBLE HOUSING SHOULDN’T BE THIS HARD TO FIND

When you have a disability, finding a place to live isn’t just about finding an apartment. It’s about finding a place where you can actually LIVE.

When most people search for an apartment, they might think about location, rent, bedrooms, parking, or whether there’s a nice kitchen.

When you’re a wheelchair user, the list looks completely different.

Can I actually get through the front door?

Is there an elevator?

Are the doorways wide enough for my wheelchair?

Can I maneuver around the bedroom?

Can I get into the bathroom?

Is there enough space for my medical equipment?

Can my caregivers safely assist me?

And one of the biggest questions:

Can I actually afford it?

Welcome to the reality of searching for accessible AND affordable housing while living with a disability.

♿ “Accessible” Doesn’t Always Mean Accessible

One of my biggest frustrations is seeing apartments advertised as “accessible,” only to realize that they wouldn’t actually work for someone like me.

Putting a grab bar in a bathroom doesn’t automatically make a home accessible.

Accessibility looks different depending on the person’s disability.

As someone who uses a power wheelchair full time and relies on caregivers for assistance, space matters.

I need room to maneuver my wheelchair. I need room for caregivers to safely assist me. I need room for disability-related equipment and supplies.

These aren’t luxuries.

They’re necessities for independent living.

🏠 Disabled People Deserve Choices Too

This is something I wish more developers, housing organizations and policymakers understood.

Disabled people don’t just need somewhere to exist.

We deserve homes.

We deserve to choose where we live.

We deserve beautiful apartments.

We deserve safe neighborhoods.

We deserve enough space.

We deserve to decorate our homes and make them ours.

We deserve privacy.

We deserve independence.

And we shouldn’t automatically be pushed toward nursing facilities or other institutional settings simply because finding appropriate housing in the community is difficult.

Disability should not take away someone’s right to choose where and how they live.

💰 Then Comes Affordability…

Finding wheelchair-accessible housing is already challenging.

Finding affordable wheelchair-accessible housing can feel almost impossible.

You may finally find an apartment that physically works for you—and then discover that the rent is completely out of reach.

Or you find an affordable housing opportunity, but the available unit doesn’t meet your accessibility needs.

Why should disabled people constantly have to choose between affordability and accessibility?

We need both.

💗 This Is Why I Created the GCR Accessible Affordable Housing Network

I became tired of seeing people with disabilities struggling to find housing resources, waitlist openings and genuinely accessible apartments.

So I decided to create another space for our community.

The GCR Accessible Affordable Housing Network for People with Disabilities is designed to bring people together to share:

🏡 Accessible housing opportunities
🔑 Affordable housing and waitlist information
♿ Wheelchair-accessible apartments
📢 Housing resources and advocacy information
🤝 Community connections and support

I want people searching for accessible housing to know:

You aren’t the only person frustrated by this system.

And together, we can also push for something bigger.

🏗️ I Want Developers at the Table

This conversation cannot only happen within the disability community.

I want developers, architects, property managers, housing organizations, city leaders and policymakers involved too.

Talk to us BEFORE you build.

Include disabled people during the design process.

Don’t wait until construction is finished to discover that something technically considered “accessible” doesn’t actually work for the people it’s supposed to serve.

Nothing about us without us.

💭 My Bigger Vision

My dream goes beyond helping someone find their next apartment.

I want to see more housing intentionally designed around disabled people’s independence.

Imagine a truly inclusive, accessible housing community with:

♿ Spacious wheelchair-accessible apartments
🚪 Wider doorways and hallways
🛗 Reliable elevators
🚿 Roll-in showers and accessible bathrooms
🦽 Enough space for mobility and medical equipment
❤️ Room for caregivers to safely provide assistance
🚐 Reliable accessible transportation connections
🏥 Connections to healthcare and community resources

Most importantly, imagine disabled residents being able to live independently in their own homes and communities.

That’s the future I want to help create.

📣 We Need to Stop Treating Accessibility Like an Extra

Accessibility isn’t a special feature.

It isn’t an upgrade.

It isn’t something developers should think about after everything else has already been designed.

Accessibility is a basic part of creating communities where everyone can live.

Disabled people are already here.

We’re working.

We’re creating businesses.

We’re raising families.

We’re contributing to our communities.

We’re living full lives.

We need housing that allows us to continue doing that.

💕 LET’S BUILD SOMETHING BETTER

If you’re a housing developer, affordable housing organization, disability organization, architect, city or state official, funder, community partner or advocate, I would love to connect.

I’m interested in conversations, partnerships and opportunities that can help move accessible and affordable housing from something disabled people constantly have to fight for to something that is built into our communities from the beginning.

And if you’re a person with a disability currently searching for housing, I want to hear from you too.

What would truly accessible housing look like for YOU?

Let’s keep talking.

Let’s keep advocating.

And let’s make sure disabled people have a seat at the table when decisions about our homes and communities are being made.

Because accessible housing isn’t just about buildings.

It’s about freedom.
It’s about safety.
It’s about dignity.
It’s about independence.
It’s about HOME. 🏠♿💗

Keisha Greaves
Founder • Designer • Disability Advocate • Speaker
Girls Chronically Rock | GCR Adaptive Solutions