Enjoying the Ride: The Blog

MITCH  STURGEON
Author and Blogger Living With MS

2019 MLA STICKER FINALIST

Accessible Housing

If not for the support of my amazing wife, Kim, I could find myself in a nursing home well before my time. Others are not so lucky.

I’ve become passionate about this cause. I’m part of an organization, 3i Housing of Maine, that is working to provide accessible housing for younger persons with physical disabilities. Please look over the following letter from our founder.

John is in his mid-20s and survived a horrific car accident that left him unable to walk. Because of his disability, his current housing no longer meets his needs. John has limited income, and, in looking for a place to live that does meet his needs, he and his family have discovered that there is little available.  

John’s story is not an uncommon one. Many families in Maine who care for a loved one with a physical disability have, for lack of alternatives, had to make the tough decision to place a family member in a nursing facility well before their time. 

This is why I recently founded 3i Housing of Maine (“3i HoME”), a Maine nonprofit corporation, and this is why I’m asking for your support.

  Click Here to Support Our Cause  

The mission of 3i HoME is to enhance the lives of Maine residents with physical disabilities by creating accessible, modern, and community-based affordable housing with self-directed care solutions. Our focus is to promote Independent living by employing Innovative solutions in an Integrated community setting. In other words, we will create the kind of living environments that make it possible for people like John to exercise their rights to full, rewarding, and productive lives despite physical challenges.   

The priority for 3i HoME is to establish partnerships with local stakeholders such as health care systems and community development organizations, to establish a pilot supportive housing project. Our pilot will demonstrate the savings in health care costs that can be realized by increasing access to state-of-the-art telehealth technologies.  

The effort we have launched in Maine is aligned with a recent statement by Seema Verma, the federal government’s Medicaid Administrator, who commented in a September 23rd email that: “Home and community-based care is not only frequently more cost effective, but is preferred by seniors and adults with disabilities seeking to maintain the dignity of independent living.”

I invite you to join us in this effort by donating to 3i HoME today. Every dollar we raise will provide critical seed funding for this pilot initiative, assist us to create meaningful partnerships with key stakeholders, and help us to secure additional funding that will be used to build and open Maine’s first 3i HoME Residence.

We have assembled a team of dedicated subject-matter experts who, as volunteers, bring decades of experience to this project. (To learn more about our team, please visit www.3iHoME.org.)  Together, we can provide people like John, people with disabilities who are not ready for nursing home placement, the community based, independent living options they deserve. 

Thank you for considering our request!!!

Paul E. Linet

Founder & President

3i Housing of Maine

cell: 207-712-2232

P.S.  Please consider forwarding this communication to those in your network who may be interested in supporting our work or direct them to www.3iHoME.org for more information. Thank you again!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2 Replies to “Accessible Housing”

  1. I’d love to find out if such housing is available in Arizona and Southern California and actually for every State. Is there a directory or something similar of accessible housing?

  2. Kathleen, unfortunately accessible housing for persons with physical disabilities is a relatively new concept. I would expect that states such as Arizona and Southern California would have a sprinkling of them, but I further expect that nobody has put together a directory yet. I think Google will be our best friend for a while in finding these. I searched on “accessible housing California” and I found many hits including this one: http://www.accessiblespace.org/california-accessible-housing

    Let me know if I can help further.

    Mitch

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