Matt Farmen knows a lot about houses with poor accessibility for someone in a wheelchair.
Farmen suffered a spinal cord injury during a sledding accident when he was 11-years-old. Back then, a friend’s dad who was a contractor, helped make his family home more navigable as he was adjusting to his new circumstances in a chair.
But at the age of 30 — with a lot of years having passed since he struck out on his own — Farmen bought a house in Edgewater. That was two years ago. And at the time, he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to afford to make it wheelchair friendly.
He says accessibility was always a battle when he was going to college or renting apartments in his 20s. But buying a home in an already expensive city, while looking at untold costs to renovate — adding ramps and making bathrooms wheelchair accessible was more than he could take on.
His status as a soon-to-be newlywed (at the time) made things even a bit more complicated, in that the couple’s home had to work for both of them.
Enter the Home Builders Foundation (HBF), a nonprofit started more than 25 years ago with a mission to build independence, provide opportunities and elevate lives for individuals and families with disabilities.
Farmen said he’d never heard of the organization, but a chance meeting with another friend in a chair, just after he bought his home put them on his radar.
“I applied for a ramp to get into the house in the front, a ramp to get out into the back, bathroom modifications and a way to get to the basement,” Farmen said.
From there, HBF sent representatives to his house to see what he needed and the best way to accomplish making Farmen’s house truly work for him.
“They found project captains — volunteers — contractors who volunteer their time,” Farmen said. “Our project captain pretty much lived here for about a month, bringing in different tradespeople who volunteered
their time and materials. There were electricians, drywallers, asbestos specialists, framers, a tile guy and I’m probably forgetting someone.”
He said because of COVID, things took a little bit longer than expected. But the improvements to his home were well worth the wait.
Now Farmen wants to give back and help out where he can. While being interviewed he must have used the word grateful a dozen times — each time with sincerity.
September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. And Farmen hopes by telling his story, he can draw more awareness to the challenges of living with a spinal cord injury and the special group of volunteers who came together to make his life a bit easier. He’d also like you to know that if you’re in need of accessibility assistance, or looking for a worthy cause to support, you can check out the Home Builders Foundation online at hbfdenver.org to get involved.
