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Alexis Gurinko of Bethlehem is a former board president of the Lehigh Valley center for Independent Living and continues to be an advocate for people with disabilities through the Lehigh Valley Partnership for a Disability Friendly Community. (CONTRI http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-disability-apartments-gurinko-yv-0729-20130729,0,5230127.story On July 9, I attended a public hearing of the Allentown Planning Commission to press the developers of the waterfront project to include apartments for people with disabilities in their plans. I strongly urge my fellow citizens, Congress and housing developers to provide much more accessible and affordable housing for people with disabilities, not just in the Lehigh Valley but all over the USA. Such housing is very limited in this country. Consequently, there are so many people with disabilities who need and are waiting for such apartments. They are mentally alert and can live on their own with assistance of daily aides. This population includes persons with birth defects, disabling diseases and those who have been victims of car accidents, industrial accidents, hunting accidents, domestic violence, and injuries received fighting wars. I am physically disabled, having had cerebral palsy (a neuromuscular condition) since birth, which confines me to get around in a motorized wheelchair and inflicts me with a speech difficulty but does not affect my intelligence at all. Yet, despite my severe physical disability, I made many accomplishments in my life. One of my major accomplishments is being the founder of Lexie's Dream Apartments at 1609 Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem, where I have lived for 11 years with 15 other residents with disabilities who have separate apartments of their own. Unfortunately, 24 years ago, when I left my parents' home, this wasn't the case. Back then, I was forced to live in a nursing home for almost 13 years because of the level of physical assistance that I needed in my daily life and because there were no other options for me to live independently in the community. In the nursing home, my daily needs were regimented to specific times of the day for getting up in the morning, eating meals, going to bed at night, and even going to the bathroom. To make things worse, everything was "hurry up and wait" for this assistance because of the nursing home's limited staff. When I needed help other than for these essentials of life or at times outside the routine, I was very lucky to receive the extra help. Life there was merely an obvious existence, where residents were treated like clones, not for their individual contributions and needs. While there, I was motivated to spearhead the development of Lexie's Dream Apartments, a low-income and accessible apartment complex specifically designed to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. The layout of each of the 15 apartments is different from one another, but all have spacious rooms for wheelchair turnarounds, low countertops, electronic doors that can be opened without assistance, an automatic elevator that makes it easier for us to travel between floors and an emergency generator for when the power goes out in our building. Every resident lives independently and is free to pursue life as he or she wishes, just like everyone else in society. We make decisions for ourselves and establish our own living routines with assistance of personal aides who come daily. Needless to say, Lexie's Dream Apartments is a real home to all of us, giving us the ability and freedom to live like anyone and everyone else in society! As I pointed out, the quality of life is much better for us than those living in a nursing home. Providing more apartments like those at Lexie's Dream will cost taxpayers much less than housing people with disabilities in nursing homes. It costs thousands of dollars for just one individual to live in a nursing home a year. More importantly, a disability can suddenly happen to anyone or to a family member or to a friend of that person. So I urge you all to join our call to make more accessible and affordable housing a reality for the ever-increasing number of people with disabilities. It doesn't have to be an entire building dedicated to people with disabilities like at Lexie's Dream Apartments. It can be apartments with accommodations in a building anywhere. I'm so very happy and grateful for such accommodations at Lexie's Dream Apartments. Who knows? Maybe you too will someday need an accommodated apartment. If so, I pray you will be as fortunate as I have been to find an apartment at a place like Lexie's Dream Apartments! Alexis Gurinko of Bethlehem is a former board president of the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living and continues to be an advocate for people with disabilities through the Lehigh Valley Partnership for a Disability Friendly Community. Read more: http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-disability-apartments-gurinko-yv-0729-20130729,0,5230127.story#ixzz2bdrkivx7 Follow us: @mcall on Twitter | mcall.lv on Facebook