Making homes accessible obviously benefits people who are disabled.
It also benefits those who are able-bodied, according to an accessibility expert who spoke at a recent workshop for landlords.
It benefits people who can walk and see and hear because, as taxpayers, those able-bodied people won’t need to support disabled people who get jobs with the help of accessible housing — eliminating the need for them to collect welfare, Supplemental Security Income and food stamps, said Howard Ermin, regional housing coordinator for the Self-Determination Housing Project of Pennsylvania.
Accessible housing also benefits able-bodied people because they can more easily entertain visitors who are disabled — including elderly relatives, said Ermin, whose organization has recently been emphasizing the value of “visitibility.”
