Housing Units for Physically Challenged Families

Over the past two years 1,060 housing units have been constructed and handed over to families with more than two physically challenged members, and 940 more units are under construction, said Hamidreza Sohrabi, director general of Rural Housing Office at the Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution on Thursday.  

He said a memorandum of understanding was signed between the State Welfare Organization (SWO), Mostazafan Foundation and the Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution in 2015, in which the three sides were committed to provide decent housing to families with more than two disabled members, IRNA reported.

Costly medical care and other services for the disabled often impose severe mental and financial pressure on their families. Besides, it also affects the emotional wellbeing of other family members. Most families with physically and mentally challenged members are therefore in need of more financial and moral support from the government as well as charity institutions.

“So far, 3,600 rural households with two or more physically challenged members have been identified across the country by the SWO.” The foundation has plans to bring all the affected families under coverage by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2018, Sohrabi added.

Pointing to the services provided by the outgoing government to rural families, he said during the past four years, 270,000 rural residential units were retrofitted and 70,000 new ones reconstructed.

The finding of the recent National Population and Housing Census indicated that from among 5.3 million rural housing units in the country, 3 million (60%) are distressed and in dire need for renovation.  “According to our plans, we should renovate 70% of all distressed housing units  by 2026,” he said.

The Comprehensive Law on Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2004.

Nearly 15% of the population or 11 million people have some form of handicap, including 3 million with severe disability.  A total of 11,500 families with two or more disabled members were identified and registered for special disabled-friendly housing, of whom 32% are in rural areas and 68% in the cities.