The News & Advance
Published: April 27, 2008

A critical need exists across Virginia for accessible, affordable housing for the disabled. But in Central Virginia, Rush Homes is meeting that need — as quickly as the nonprofit organization can refurbish homes for them.
Housing needs for a few more disabled people will be fulfilled shortly in Madison Heights, where Rush Homes is renovating a three-bedroom house on Wildwood Drive. Volunteers for the organization are also bringing new life to a quadplex apartment on Mays Street.
The properties are five of 18 houses and apartments the group has under renovation. With financing from a number of foundations and the state, it purchased the Wildwood house for about $120,000 and the Mays Street property for about $105,000.
The projects have become a major part of the small agency’s efforts to increase available housing here to people with disabilities.
The Wildwood Drive dwelling will become home for Tim Heflin and his sister, Patty Kay. Tim had owned the house at one point, but could not afford the mortgage as a result of circumstances involving a housemate who left the area. Rush Homes became aware of the situation and decided it could purchase the home, refurbish it and rent it to Heflin and his sister. The $500-a-month rent is far easier on their budget than the $1,300-a-month mortgage Heflin was paying.
Rush Homes has put a new roof on the house and is now making the house more comfortable for someone in a wheelchair. Allison Wingfield, executive director of Rush Homes (http://www.rushhomes.org), said the bathroom is being enlarged and part of the renovation involved installation of a roll-in shower.
Improving existing housing that was not handicap-accessible is difficult, Wingfield said, because doorways and small bathrooms have to be enlarged. “It’s much easier to build access if you build new,” she said, “but we love to go back and improve housing stock that’s existing.”
Accessible housing is hard to find for people with physical disabilities. As evidence of that, Rush Homes has a waiting list of 75 people and an average wait of five years.
State officials have affirmed that need, especially for those who are disabled and living on limited incomes. Shea Hollifield, deputy director of the division of housing for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, said affordable housing for disabled people “is one of the largest housing gaps in the state. Affordable housing itself is a huge issue. Accessible housing for (disabled people) is even more difficult.”
Hollifield pointed to the important significance of the work Rush Homes is doing when she said that only a few organizations in the state work to provide affordable housing for the disabled and Rush is one of them. “It is a huge need; we’re grateful for the partners we have,” she said.
When renovated, said Wingfield, two of the four units on Mays Street will be totally wheelchair accessible, with roll-under sinks and modified kitchens, wheelchair-friendly flooring, roll-in shower — even wheelchair parking in the back.
Rush Homes is blessed to have a number of volunteers helping with every aspect of meeting the housing needs of the disabled. Building contractors have volunteered in-kind services, while church and business groups adopt a house to help paint, plant shrubbery or clean up at homes where people with disabilities are not able to do those chores.
The organization should be proud of the critical need it is helping to meet in Central Virginia. Its efforts have made the lives of dozens of disabled people much easier than they would have been otherwise by providing accessible, affordable housing. It’s a combined effort that helps strengthen the entire community.