Bay Area Disability
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Archived Accessibility Advice
Inaccessible Neighborhood Watch Group
Wheelchair accessible apartments
Inaccessible Neighborhood Watch Group
I recently learned of a Neighborhood Watch Group on the block where I’ve lived for some years, but when I called hoping to join, the “block captain” told me that unfortunately they take turns meeting at each other’s homes, which are all wheelchair inaccessible. I offered my home but she was not receptive to that idea. She suggested that someone might carry me up the 5 or 6 steps involved, and clearly felt that was all the accommodation I could expect. I am not nearly that interested, but I would like to be a part of this group. Any ideas how I could handle this?
Often I find it takes talking to more than one person in the group to make an already-existing group change for my access needs. If you don't see your neighbors on the street, then you can write a note to each and introduce yourself and your interest to be involved in the Watch Group. You might ask other members why they like to meet in each other's houses. Is it so each can show their hospitality? If so, then each member could rotate being the 'host' even though the meeting is in your home. Corbett
Wheelchair accessible apartments
I'm planning on moving to the Bay Area soon, and I just came across the Badnetwork- this is great! My question is what's the best place to call about finding a wheelchair accessible apartment? I'm hoping to live in SF, but more likely will live in the East Bay due to rent prices. Thank you! Tracey
- Good luck! There are lots of wheelchair users here and not enough apartments. Many wheelchair riders live in the East Bay because it is significantly flatter than San Francisco. Depending on how much access you need, this can be an easy or hard search. If you only need general access (i.e. getting through doorways but no grab rails), then large apartment buildings are a possibility. Because of the university, no apartment in Berkeley is cheap. If you need more access, consider joining a local disability listserv (such as Berkeley-Disabled@yahoogroups.com) and placing your housing request there. Alternately, I live in Richmond near Bart, which is much cheaper. I was priced out of the rental market and bought a small duplex. Prices here for 1 bedrooms are $65,000.
