Housing for People With Disabilities

        Housing in Canada has become very hard to find for majority of people, it is especially difficult for a person with disabilities (Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2012). The issue is finding proper housing that will suit their needs such as; an easy to access entrance way for a wheelchair, and a house that is equipped to help make a person with disabilities life easier (Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2012). “Too frequently people have no choices and live in housing that is unsafe and marginally accessible” (Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2012). It is noted how difficult it is to find these proper establishments, so the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program was started to make it easier on both residence owners and landlords.

            The RRAP program was designed to help people with disabilities make their house accessible to them. This program "offers financial assistance to allow home owners and landlords to pay for modifications to make their property more accessible to people with disabilities" (Service Canada, 2012). This is a great opportunity for homeowners to take advantage of because they can use this money to make their home fully equipped to suit all of their needs, ultimately creating an easier life for them. This is also an amazing opportunity for landlords because they are receiving money where they normally would not. This is to ensure that their houses/apartment buildings are accessible to people with a disability. People with disabilities may not financially be capable and they may not be capable of the upkeep of owning their own home. By landlords receiving money to make their buildings accessible it gives more availability for people with disabilities to find proper housing. To qualify for this program your property must qualify. In order to apply for this your property must be: "occupied, or is intended to be occupied, by a low-income person with a disability; is rented and the rents are less than established levels for the area; or is owned and the house is valued below a certain amount; and does not have major deficiencies to the structure and system" (Service Canada, 2012). If a house owner or landowner were to fit these criteria, then they would be eligible for the RRAP.

            This program fits very well into the liberal ideology. The liberal ideology believes in pragmatism, liberalism, individualism and humanism (Hick, pg59). "Pragmatism means that, as a government or an individual, you do what needs to be done" (Hick, pg59). Homeowners and landlords have to make buildings accessible for people with disabilities so that they are capable of having proper living conditions, it is not a choice, and it is something that needs to be done. “Disability was presented as an attribute of particular people deviating from a supposed physical norm” (Harrison & Davis, pg213). People with disabilities are physically capable of living on their own and the RRAP program benefits them so they can physically maneuver in their home without having any difficulty, and with ought them being deviated from physical norms. With the RRAP program it helps both homeowners and landlords financially so they are capable of making their building accessible, and it allows everyone to have the opportunity to proper living. "Liberals firmly believe that governments should intervene to ensure that the economy and the society remain stable and grow" (Service Canada, 2012). With the RRAP, the government is ensuring that people with disabilities are offered proper housing, because this program is providing them with money. This program allows for people with disabilities to have social security within their home (Hick, 2007).

            Without having the proper equipment it is very difficult to get around a home if you have a disability. You need to have all the right equipment for inside and outside the home. This can become very costly, and the majority of people with disabilities are already struggling for money due to being on a disability and not being able to work. This program is excellent for helping those that cannot afford it, because the adjustments to a home are something that a person with disabilities needs and usually cannot afford.

Harrison, Malcolm & Davis, Cathy. (April 2001). Housing, Social Policy and Difference. The Policy Press. Retrieved From: http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=f9I1TXlk-RcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=liberal+ideology+disability+housing&ots=Tm5s537Ovc&sig=-mU4tc7esyEZlvoH6xGMP-X-Mwg#v=onepage&q=pg%201&f=false

Service Canada. (May 16, 2012). Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program- RRAP for Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved From: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/rrap_pwd.shtml

Hick, Steven,. (2007) Social Welfare in Canada: Understanding Income Security. Toronto, ON: Thompson Educational Publishing.

Council of Canadians with Disability. (May 6, 2012). Affordable accessible housing- A Critical Issue for People with Disabilities. Retrieved From: http://www.ccdonline.ca/en/socialpolicy/access-inclusion/affordable-accessible-housing-6May2010  

- Kahli