Rush Homes building new affordable apartments for disabled | Local News

In an effort to address a tremendous need, Rush Homes is constructing 28 new apartments off of Old Forest Road, planned to be finished by next summer.

The nonprofit provides affordable and accessible rental housing options for adults with disabilities and low incomes in the Lynchburg area.

It also operates and owns the Victoria Ridge and Armstrong Place apartment complexes as well as several other homes across the city and in Madison Heights.

Chris Howell, program manager for Rush Homes, said the nonprofit has a waiting list of more than 400 people.

“We have had a lot of new apartments and homes built in the area but not an increase of affordable housing units. There is a tremendous disparity between just an apartment and an apartment that accepts a housing choice voucher,” she said.

The voucher program provides assistance to very low-income families to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing.

The new apartments, called the Old Forest Village, will consist of 28 fully handicapped-accessible apartments and will be located at 2516 Old Forest Road, located between Lakeside Drive and Linkhorne Drive.

Average rent for a one-bedroom Rush Homes apartment is about $550, but many tenants have rental assistance, and the portion they pay is based on their income.

Howell said the construction crews of Jamerson-Lewis started clearing the five acres for the $6 million project last week.

New residents will be able to access the complex through Anthony Place off of Westhaven Place, which is off of Linkhorne Drive.

The complex will feature about 18 one-bedroom apartments and 10 two-bedroom apartments with zero-step entrances, roll-in showers and front-loading washers and dryers.

The complex will rent exclusively to those with a permanent disability, which can include mental disabilities, Howell said.

“There is a tremendous need for affordable housing here and the need for accessibility on top of that,” Howell said. “It’s nearly impossible to find affordable housing in Lynchburg.”

Ingrid Davis, the first resident of Victoria Ridge, has lived there now for six years.

Davis pays rent to Rush Homes as well as her electric bill. Her rent is based on her income, so she never pays more than she can afford.

On Wednesday, she was teaching her granddaughter how to make homemade cinnamon buns. She said this is one of the reasons she enjoys living in her one-level accessible home. Though she sometimes uses a wheelchair to move around her home, she also can walk around on the hardwood floors.

Her former apartment was covered in carpet, causing her to trip sometimes when walking.

“I wasn’t able to walk at all because I would stumble,” she said. “What Rush Homes did by taking away the carpeting, they gave me an opportunity to walk again. I can stand in the kitchen and cook, and those are important things to me.”

Her former landlord worked with her to make the apartment even more accessible. Davis said she needed a wheelchair ramp outside of her apartment, and she couldn’t get in and out of her bathroom easily as her door was too narrow for the wheelchair.

She now has a chair to sit in to take a shower, requiring no aid there, and can wheel herself under her sink.

Howell said the nonprofit prioritizes people who have the voucher.

At least one person in the household must have some kind of permanent disability to live in the apartment.

The organization received $58,000 from the U.S. Department of Urban Development to support local homeless and service programs in 2015.

Mayor Joan Foster said the complex is a “much needed” development and is very important for the citizens of Lynchburg.

“You have those who have handicap conditions and special needs, and it’s extremely important not only for citizens who qualify for that but also for the initiative on poverty,” she said.

In order to minimize the need for affordable housing, community partnerships are a priority, she added.

“That is an important piece,” she said. “Working in partnerships with others collectively, we can make things happen for citizens who have special needs in the community.”

Davis said disabled people don’t always need to be in group homes.

 “Just because you’re disabled doesn’t mean you’re incompetent,” she said. “It doesn’t mean I need to be in a nursing home to be taken care of. Give me my independence and my dignity as long as I can do it.”

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