Program helps family whose son has special needs

For three years, Adrienne Carter cared for her non-ambulatory son Adrian, 16, in a home ill-equipped for his needs.

Adrian has hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling, and is in a wheelchair. The Carter family previously lived in a Broward County Housing Authority-supplied unit that had widened spaces for wheelchair access and a walk-in tub, but three years ago, they bought their own home in Fort Lauderdale.

"We really had to adjust. With the housing authority, we had the wider doors," Carter said. "That's one of the things you don't think about when you move into your own house."

They were unable to refinance their mortgage or get a loan to upgrade their home, but they learned about a city program that fit the bill. The housing rehabilitation program works with income-eligible Fort Lauderdale residents either 62 or older, or who have disabled family members, to supply forgivable 15-year loans for home upgrades or repairs.

The loan will be forgiven at the end of the 15 years, as long as the family still lives there. Upgrades for the Carter home included a lift attached to a track system that can take Adrian from his bed to the bathroom, widened doors for his wheelchair and a lowered breakfast bar for him to access from his chair.

"Without this program, I would have still been lifting Adrian from one spot to the next. The hard thing about it is, I had gotten used to not going places," Carter said. "In dressing Adrian, you have to lift him from the bed, put him in his wheelchair, lift him from his wheelchair and put him in the bathroom, and then lift him from the bathroom and put his clothes on him, and then finally lift him and put him in the car. After that 10th time, your muscles kind of give up on you."

Avis Wilkinson, the city's housing programs administrator, said the program makes a big difference.

"I interact with all the families [who receive these loans], before and after," Wilkinson said. "We make a difference. This is a tangible change, which makes you feel good. You don't just see numbers and dollars; you see people and you see the positive change."

For more information, call 954-828-6520.

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Program helps family whose son has special needs