A former Redruth rugby player who became
a wheelchair user following sudden onset health problems, has settled into a
new lifetime home thanks to the DIY SOS–style efforts of social landlord
Coastline Housing.
James Ball, since losing his mobility,
had suffered years of unsuitable housing in the private rented sector, meaning
that he was unable to gain access to the upper floor of his own home to do
simple things like read his children a bedtime story and kiss them goodnight.
His plight to find a suitable home
continued in a downward spiral as landlord after landlord told him that
properties could not be adapted for his needs until, eventually, he requested a
meeting with the Lettings Team at Coastline to see if some sort of out-of-the-box
solution could come into play.
James explains: “Each house that I got
turned down for over the years felt like quite a punch. It seemed that, within
the standard system, we didn’t stand a chance of ever getting allocated a home
that would suit my needs. Until, that is, I met with the Lettings Manager at
Coastline and explained exactly what my requirements were. She said ‘do you
know what? Let's see if we can actually do this!’ I couldn’t believe it was
actually happening.”
So began a
herculean effort by the Coastline Lettings and Development Teams to take a
new-build house in Camborne and adapt it for James’ needs as quickly as
possible.
Jo Morris, Lettings Manager at Coastline
Housing, said: “After meeting with James and his family and hearing exactly
what they needed from a home, we knew we could call in exactly what was needed
to make things happen for them. Alongside Coastline Services, the Occupational
Therapist and other contractors, we worked hard to ensure that we considered
all aspects of the property – doorways that were accessible for James's
wheelchair, grab rails where he needed them, accessible worktop space in the
kitchen, a specialist shower in the bathroom and decking all along the back of
the property to enable James to go out and enjoy the garden with his
family. It was also important for me to listen to the family's needs as
well as James' and to enable him to have independence within the family home.”
Most important of all, the landlord
arranged for a stair lift to be installed so that there was no part of the
house James couldn’t access.
James says: “It’s made a massive
difference to our life as a family. Before, I’d just sit in my chair and was
depressed and in quite a dark place. Now it’s changed our lives completely and
the whole family has come together again. The fact that I can now get upstairs
to read my daughter a bedtime story and kiss her goodnight is just massive.
It’s made the world of difference to us.”
James will be known to many people
locally as a former semi-professional rugby player who played at County level
and was a builder by trade, owning his own company locally. A routine visit to
the doctors about some knee trouble soon revealed problems with his hip joints
too, and resulted in five operations over the space of a few months as doctors
battled to save his leg.
He adds: “From being such a very
physical person to being in the chair has obviously had a big impact on my
mental health too. As a family, we’ve had some dark days, but now the future is
looking bright. This home has helped me gain back some of my independence and
I’m excited about the life we’ll enjoy together here as a family.”
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