Due to unsuitable housing, the daily lives of the elderly or disabled remain limited. The Nice Côte d’Azur urban community is committed, from 2010 to 2015, to granting an annual subsidy of 17,000 euros to the Protection, Improvement, Conservation, Transformation of Habitat (PACT) association as part of the second housing program. “Our goal is to rehabilitate 100 homes per year,” says Frédéric Izzo, the director of PACT in the Alpes-Maritimes. Several transformations are planned, such as widening doors to allow wheelchair access, installing ramps, lift seats for multi-level homes, etc. “We also plan to secure homes, particularly for the elderly who may be at risk when using electrical appliances or gas-operated devices.”
How to access accessible housing?
To receive aid, grants, and loans (PACT also manages interest-free loans) necessary for transforming a home, Frédéric Izzo states, “there is a resource cap not to be exceeded. It roughly corresponds to the one that allows access to social housing.” The disability card may also be essential to justify one’s disability to the General Council, the urban community, or the State. Some individuals may suffer from a disability that is not immediately visible, such as respiratory insufficiency.
Homes are expected to be transformed by the end of the year. Frédéric Izzo asserts: “We are going to work with associations that support the elderly and disabled.” “The action will likely start in October. Between October and December, we might have the opportunity to rehabilitate about ten homes.”
