Calum Grevers who has muscular dystrophy speaks out about fight to find accessible home in Edinburgh after launching fundraising campaign

An Edinburgh man with muscular dystrophy who is desperate to move out of his parents’ house and live an independent life has launched a powerful campaign highlighting the difficulties those in wheelchairs face when trying to find a home.

Calum Grevers is raising money to help him move out of his parents' house and find his own home.

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Calum Grevers first applied for social housing in January last year, but after it became clear that the process would leave him waiting years for his independence, he embarked on a fundraising campaign to raise enough money for a deposit and to carry out home alterations by himself.

“I went through the social housing lists for a while but there were very few that were accessible. I would often go on and of 20 properties, I was lucky if there was one that was accessible,” he said.

Calum has launched a powerful campaign highlighting the difficulties facing wheelchair users

“It was clear that it was going to take a really long time, especially when I took into account a needs assessment, time for alterations to be made and the delays caused by the pandemic. I was looking at an overall wait of almost five years.

“I don’t think accessibility is factored in when it comes to a lot of housing even though us wheelchair users have as much of a desire to live independently as anyone else. I just want to move out and start my own life and do things my own way and I wasn’t going to wait that long.”

The 28-year-old launched a GoFundMe page in December last year and asked people to donate and help him raise enough money to buy his own house. And in 11 months, he has raised just shy of £20,000 - two thirds of his target.

He hopes the money will help him secure a ground floor flat which he can then adapt to be open plan and to include a wet-floor shower room and a second bedroom for his PA to use. The computer science graduate also wants to create a space in which he can work from home.

“I know exactly what my needs and requirements are so I am confident that once I have a house, I can get the work done within a few months and move in quickly,” he said.

Calum also hopes that his fight to find a home will raise awareness of the challenges facing disabled people in Edinburgh, where he said accessible homes were particularly rare due to the city’s age and historical layout.

“I’m going to try and use YouTube and social media to let all those who have contributed to my project see the progress I’m making,” he said.

“It will be a good way to make a point about accessible housing and I’m hoping I can attract more attention to this issue.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Calum is looking forward to the future and believes he could reach his fundraising goal in just a few months.

“I’m very grateful for the support and everything,” he said. “I think, considering that we are going through a pandemic and an economic crisis, people still being willing to make generous donations to my campaign is so good to see.

“I think the campaign has made people think a bit more about accessibility when they may not have thought about it before and I’m really pleased with the attention it is getting so far.”

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