Housing
One out of every five Americans lives with a disability.* That translates into more than 450,000 adults and children in the St. Louis region. One of the greatest challenges and most common obstacle encountered by people with disabilities is the lack of accessible housing. St. Louis City is an old, architecturally attractive city, however, most of its buildings do not accommodate people with disabilities. St. Louis County has insufficient capacity in its subsidized housing programs to accommodate the demand from protected classes of people, such as, seniors with disabilities or with limited mobility. When basic housing needs are not met it most often results in people with disabilities being trapped in inaccessible homes or worse, they end up in institutions such as nursing homes or shelters - losing their independence, family, friends, belongings, and quality of life. In the City of St. Louis, 24% of the residents are disabled, while only 0.32% of homes and apartments are accessible. In St. Louis County, 19% of the residents are disabled, while only 0.27% of homes and apartments are accessible. Those with substantial resources can build or modify their homes; the majority of people with disabilities are living below the poverty level. Recently constructed, public buildings must adhere to universal design codes that require accessible accommodations for people with mobility limitations. However, developers and private builders have a poor understanding of what constitutes accessible housing and some are clearly unaware of the demand for accessible housing. Also, many homeowners cannot or will not willingly incur the cost to modify existing residences.
*U.S. Census figure
