I recently participated in a panel at Rebuilding Together’s national conference. Rebuilding Together is a national nonprofit organization with more than 200 local affiliates and 200,000 volunteers working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. The organization provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes of low-income Americans. Often their clients are elderly or disabled and need aging in place home modifications in order to stay in their home. Many NAHB Remodelers and local Remodelers councils have partnered with Rebuilding Together Affiliates on rehab projects.

The subject of the conference panel was living safe at home. Along with Greg Secord of Rebuilding Together, there were several occupational therapists including Karen Smith from the American Occupational Therapists Association (AOTA), a representative from the Home Safety Council and myself.

I was there from NAHB Remodelers to talk about the CAPS program. The room was crowded with Rebuilding Together volunteers and staff from around the country who had come to DC to network with other local chapters and learn how to better serve their clients.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the more than 60 attendees in the room were aware of the CAPS designation and several people in the session were even CAPS graduates. There was much interest in the CAPS program, many questions and a desire to learn more about the program. A crowd of people lined up after the session to get more information on CAPS and how to get their designation.

When I finally answered the last question and the room had just about emptied out, I noticed a woman in a wheelchair in the back of the room who motioned for me to come over. After we introduced ourselves to each other she said she had wanted to share something but waited for others to leave the room because she didn’t want to embarrass me in front of everyone. That’s when she told me she tried to register for a CAPS class, but when she found out the facility wasn’t accessible she had to cancel. She asked me to remind those giving the classes to hold them in accessible facilities so people with disabilities like her can take the class. I promised that I would share her message.

This experience is a reminder to all CAPS that we must strive to practice what we preach on accessibility and universal design. Wherever we can, we should make facilities and classrooms accessible for all to participate because the overarching goal of CAPS professionals is to make the world a more accessible and easier to navigate.   [ return to top ]