As we approach Christmas and find a newborn baby being cared for in the most inappropriate of places, the Revd Rachel Wooden reflects on how our housing is linked to our wellbeing and how inappropriate and inadequate housing affects the lives of nearly two million disabled people in the UK.
I love watching Grand Designs.
Especially those episodes where there is triumph over adversity, where the family situation, as well as the home, is transformed and lives are changed for good.
The episode I watched recently was about a couple whose lives had been turned upside down by an acute medical condition for the wife, resulting in considerable physical and cognitive impairment. Their current home was no longer accessible, but they were in the fortunate position of being able to design and build their own accessible place to live. It really was a beautiful and thought-provoking episode which ended with these words… ‘This is a building that was put up to be lived in, which was constructed with faith, hope and love… and it reminds me that great architecture isn’t really there to be gawped at it’s there to transform people’s lives, emotionally, spiritually, physically’.
I absolutely agree – homes do transform people’s lives, there is most definitely a spiritual dimension to them as well as an emotional and physical one. This is because God cares about the places we call home, places where we can flourish, where we can find safety and security, where we can rest and relax, where we can show hospitality, friendship and kindness.
But what happens if the place you live in does not allow you to flourish in this way and you cannot afford to build or purchase an accessible home?
At Christmas, we are reminded every year of the way that God came to dwell among us, choosing to be born in accommodation which may not have been very appropriate for a brand new baby. But we often romanticise the situation as we gaze at beautiful stable scenes, forgetting that it may have been a very difficult time for Mary and Joseph and their new baby.
And yet, what will life be like this Christmas for the 1.8 million disabled people in the UK who are not living in suitable accommodation, including 400,000 wheelchair users? The UK’s accessible housing crisis is deepening, with only 57% of wheelchair users living in adapted homes and only 7% of homes in England having the basic accessibility features of level access to the entrance, a flush threshold, sufficiently wide doorways and circulation space, and a toilet at entrance level. This is completely unacceptable, but how often do we give this a thought?
All new homes of every tenure should be adaptable and accessible, and our existing housing stock also needs improving in terms of accessibility where possible. But even though the UK had an extensive accessible housing consultation back in 2020, there has still been no government commitment to ensure that all new homes are built to a better standard or 10% built as wheelchair accessible to make up for the shortage we have in the UK.
Habinteg & Age UK have said, ‘Without improvements, more older and disabled people will have difficulty getting in and out and around their houses and be more likely to have falls. This will put increased demands on our already stretched health and care services as well as seriously undermining each person’s health and independence’. (Home Truths: Rebutting 10 myths about building accessible housing –https://www.habinteg.org.uk › hometruths).
Many people do recognise the need for better homes. We know that accessible homes can and are being designed well, with inclusive and contemporary fixtures and fittings so that they are truly transformative and beautiful places to live and flourish. And this ‘flourishing’ is so important – a good home really should be able to help ‘transform people’s lives, emotionally, spiritually, physically’.
Scripture often describes God as longing for the flourishing of all – our bodies and our homes matter to God. We are explicitly told, “You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14), but we literally install stumbling blocks for the blind person and physical barriers for the wheelchair user when we fit inaccessible thresholds at front doors or design a flight of stairs as the main access point to the homes we build. Disability and impairment will always exist and God calls us to work to remove social, structural, economic, political and theological barriers by ‘tearing down spaces, practices and mindsets that are inaccessible to disabled people’ (Amy Kenny, My Body is not a Prayer Request – BrazosPress 2023). God asks us to help others flourish.
We have to consider this relationship between housing, spirituality and human flourishing, because our quality of life is inseparable from the material built environment. Our homes need to provide physical, emotional and spiritual space for us to grow, develop, and fulfil our potential, as well as enabling us to provide welcome, hospitality and love to our neighbours.
As you look at the unsuitable accommodation of the stable scene this Christmas, perhaps bring to mind those who are also living in inappropriate housing and consider how God might be asking you to work for a more welcoming, hospitable, and inclusive world for all people.
This article first appeared in Disability Ministry News. Subscribe to the quarterly newsletter here.