Maybe you’ve been happy where you’ve been living, but something changed. For example, if your physical condition gets worse and you can’t walk up and down the stairs, you might think that you have to move to a place with no stairs. Or, if it starts to be hard for you to prepare your own meals, you may think you have to move into a place that provides meals.

However, just because you are going through changes doesn’t always mean you have to move.

Improve Access to Your Home if You Have Physical Impairments

There are many improvements that might let you stay in your current home even if you think you can’t. Here are some examples of the changes a person with a mobility impairment might make:

• Adding hand rails and grab bars
• Adding a home stair lift (a sort of elevator that can go up your existing staircases)
• Adding wheelchair ramps
• Replacing an existing door with a wider one
• Getting furniture that is high enough for a wheelchair

Other solutions may be even simpler. For example, if you are finding it hard to stand in the shower, you can get a shower chair and take a sponge bath. You can get advice about different solutions by talking to other people with disabilities similar to your own or with accessibility specialists — a good place to find someone is at your local independent living center.

Important note for renters: If you are renting, your landlord does not have to make accessibility improvements. However, your landlord must let you make them yourself, if you are willing to pay for them and they are reasonable. If your landlord doesn't want to let you make accessibility improvements, talk to Home Line Minnesota at 1-866-866-3546 or 1-612-728-5767. Watch a video about reasonable accommodations in your rental.

Get Help Paying for Accessibility Improvements

Accessibility improvements can be costly. Fortunately, there are some programs that can help:

My Vault

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Planning Path

My Day, My Life

A Vault path with a series of short activities to help you describe things you do, and how you might use help when you do them.

Watch tutorial

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Go To Path

• If you qualify for an MA-Waiver program, it may help you pay for environmental accessibility adaptations to your apartment, house, or vehicle.
• The Minnesota STAR Program can help you get funding to buy assistive technology or can even loan it to you for free. This can include things like wheelchairs, computers that help with communication, or screen reading software that can help blind people use computers.
• Minnesota Housing’s Accessibility Loan Program gives low-interest loans to homeowners with low income who want to make accessibility and other improvements to their homes.
• Minnesota Housing’s Fix Up Program gives low-interest loans to low- to middle-income homeowners who want to make accessibility improvements to their homes.
• In the Twin Cities, the Safe at Home Program helps with free accessibility improvements for low-income homeowners who are seniors or have disabilities.
• In the Twin Cities, the Home Repair Program also helps with free home repairs for low-income homeowners who are seniors or have disabilities.
• If you are a veteran with a service-connected disability, you may be able to get a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make accessibility improvements to your home.

Even if making improvements to your home is expensive, it may still be a lot cheaper than moving into a group home or nursing home.

Services That Can Help You Stay in Your Home

Another way that you may be able to stay in your own home is by having people help you with different services. Here are some examples of the services you can get:

• Help with bathing
• Home-delivered meals
• Help taking medication
• Transportation
• 24-hour skilled nursing care

HB101's Programs section includes information about programs that can help you pay for these services.