Seniors, Wellness and Social Development
June 18, 2015

The following is being released on behalf of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation:

Supporting Inclusive Social Housing Communities

NL Housing Earns Recognition for Inclusive Housing Design

The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), today congratulated the corporation on receiving honourable mention in the national VisitAbility Awards of Excellence competition, sponsored by the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies. Recognition was given for the design of four semi-detached social housing units on Vickers Avenue, located in the Cashin-Froude Avenue neighbourhood of St. John�s.

�Congratulations to Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation and its engineering staff who were involved in the design and development of the project. This is a well-deserved honour, and affirmation that we are on the right track in helping to advance the practice of inclusive residential design in our community.�
- The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

The VisitAbility Awards of Excellence, launched this past year, showcase exemplary designs and practices of �VisitAble� housing in Canada. VisitAble homes provide a welcoming environment through inclusive design features that ensure a more accessible living space on the main level for people visiting the house, with or without disabilities. Such features include no-step entrances, wider doorways, clear passage on the main floor, and main floor bathroom facilities that can be used by anyone with mobility devices.

The adjudication also focused on such items as community integration, overall structure and site development, as well as affordability, use of space, aesthetics, functionality, and construction techniques for dealing with such issues as weather and drainage.

In addition to meeting the design requirements, the jury committee also commented that the Vickers Avenue homes were bright and spacious and conveniently located in close proximity to a community centre, medical offices, shopping, and schools. For more information, see: //visitablehousingcanada.com/ .

NLHC has 83 fully accessible social housing units and 551 visitable units within its portfolio.

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