Twenty-five years after the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a new coalition is working to get affordable and accessible housing for Syracuse University students with disabilities.

Former SU student Nick Holzthum and other members of the university community launched the Coalition for a Livable and Accessible Syracuse during a march in downtown Syracuse on July 29, according to the organization’s Facebook page.

There are many necessities that non-disabled people do not realize people with disabilities need, such as a bedroom and laundry on the first floor, a wide enough bathroom or a ramp, Holzthum said.

“These are extremely rare features that make finding housing very restrictive,” he said.

The coalition began The Radically Accessible Living Project, an initiative that is working to raise awareness and funds in order to buy a home in the SU area for students with disabilities to live in.

The plan is for one home to be purchased and renovated to allow for three people with disabilities to live without restrictions. In order to accomplish this, the coalition is looking to raise $120,000, according to a fundraising page set up by the group.

The coalition has raised $2,753, or two percent of its goal, as of Monday night.

Holzthum said the coalition is trying to get the SU community behind the effort because it affects a lot of students, some of whom put off attending SU because they are placed on waitlists for housing or unable to find suitable off-campus accommodations.

“Affordability is really important, so if we own the house, we can keep rent low and we can adjust it for people (with disabilities) who will potentially be living on the streets if they can’t find affordable housing,” Holzthum said.

In addition to being a living space for three students with disabilities, the house will also be used as a place for the coalition to meet and organize to help the project grow, said Laura Jaffee, a graduate student in SU’s disabilities studies program who is helping with the project.

“(We want to) anticipate their needs so that changes are made prior to someone moving in, rather than have them move in and have to do work to make the house more accessible,” Jaffee said.

She added that it is clear that there is a need for alternative housing after looking at the vast number of people with disabilities that are forced into nursing homes or prisons because they can’t afford or find housing.

Simone Richmond, an SU alumna who is also helping with The Radically Accessible Living Project, said that while SU has a “great” disabilities studies program, “it is a devastating irony” that some students cannot attend the university because they cannot find housing.

But while making accessible housing for three people is just a dent, improvements for accessible housing have to start somewhere, said Holzthum.

“This project will start small but continue to grow,” he said. “A small portion of the rent will go towards the upkeep, but the rest will go towards investing in a new property.”

Published on September 1, 2015 at 10:12 pm

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