Dakota Center for Independent Living

Dakota Center for Independent Living

Dakota Center for Independent Living Hosts Visitability: Making Homes Beautiful and Accessible

Dakota Center for Independent Living is hosting an event on visitability on August 26, 2015 at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library. There will be two sessions: 3:30-5:00 pm and 6:30-8:00 pm. Visitability is an international movement to change home construction practices so that all new homes, whether or not designated for residents who currently have mobility impairments, offer three specific accessibility features. These features include one zero step entrance, a bathroom that is usable by a wheelchair user, and wider interior doors.

Visitability features make homes easier for people with mobility issues to visit friends and families. These features also provide basic access that allows someone who does not have a disability, but develops one, to remain in their home. Currently, eighty percent of Americans over the age of fifty want to remain in their current home. Building a home with visitable features allows them to achieve that.

When asked about the costs of building a visitable home, Royce Schultze, the executive director at Dakota Center for Independent Living, said, “I think people would be surprised at the low cost of building a visitable home.” She went on to say, “Visitability makes a home easier for everyone. For example, a zero step entrance is much easier for a mother with a young child. It is much easier to just be able to roll a stroller into the house instead of struggling to get it up the stairs.” This event is free and open to the public. There will be time after each session for questions.