ANCOR Signs Onto Letter of Support for Ensuring Home Design Accounts for People with Disabilities’ Visitability

As part of its work with the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), ANCOR signed onto a letter supporting the Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act of 2019, which seeks to require homes built with federal assistance to be accessable by people with disabilities who would visit the inhabitants. Physical accessibility of homes is an on-going for challenge for people with disabilities.

As written in the letter:

“People with disabilities should be able to visit friends, family, and coworkers without worrying that architectural barriers will exclude them from this important aspect of everyday life. Visitability is a design concept that allows people with disabilities to be a part of their neighborhoods and communities by integrating a minimum level of accessibility in housing units that are not covered by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Although some communities have adopted laws that fill this gap by requiring visitability, the majority of newly constructed single-family houses and townhouses are not covered. Action is needed at the federal level to increase the number of visitable housing units.

The Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act will significantly benefit people with disabilities across the United States.”