Open Letter to HGTV about Renovating for Accessibility

About a quarter of the US population has some form of disability. If this is surprising, it may be because we’ve been rendered invisible by an inaccessible society. We may be the only minority group physically excluded by the very way public spaces are designed. No one needs a sign that says ‘disabled not welcome here’. All you need is a staircase to your front door without a ramp.  More than thirty years after the ADA became law, people with disabilities struggle to be able to exist in public spaces and to find affordable housing. Many communities have no accessible housing while some cities have accessible housing available only in low income apartments.

I love watching home renovation shows. I wish there was a show that renovated houses to be accessible. You would need a host who uses a wheelchair, both to increase representation and because a person with a disability understands what is needed in ways able bodied people can't. I can't tell you how many 'accessible' hotels I've been to where the grab bars are too short or too far from the toilet to reach. Or there's a glass enclosed shower with a pull open door because someone imagined a wheelchair user could roll in, transfer, push the chair out, pull the door closed, then push the door open, reach the chair to pull it back in and transfer back.

These renovations do not need to be ugly, hospital-like, or expensive. I did mine for under 50k, including a kitchen with roll-under sinks and front -mounted stove controls and countertops at different heights, a roll-in shower with beautiful tile and a teak bench, a slowly graded concrete slope to my front door that most people don't recognize is a ramp. Many of these are universal design choices that help parents with strollers as well as an aging baby boomer population.

I don't believe the audience would be limited to the disabled community. When I think about reality shows about little people, obese people, polygamist families, etc., I see a big audience interested in the lives of people different from them. The way to keep a show like this from becoming exploitative 'inspiration porn' is to be sure you include a diverse group of disabled voices following the 'nothing about us without us' standard.

It would be great to show how these universal design options could be used in businesses that serve the public in ways that would be inclusive for all kinds of people. I would love to have a show like this to watch, and when the pandemic is over, the ability to participate in the world outside my home.