"I'm locked in my room": Kirov authorities cannot help a disabled person with housing

      Recently to the editorial office Newsler.ru A resident of Kirov, who lives in one of the apartments on Komsomolskaya Street, applied. He became disabled several years ago, after a terrible road accident and numerous serious operations. A man can only use a wheelchair, but his apartment — an ordinary Kirov small—family apartment - is completely unsuitable for this. He decided to seek help from the authorities, and that's where the whole story began.

      "It all started with the fact that I have a house without a ramp," said a resident of Kirov. — I raised this issue, addressed Deputy Butina (Maria Butina, State Duma deputy from the Kirov region — approx.) I thought maybe they would raise some funds for help, because this is an extremely expensive thing. She, in turn, appealed to the administration. We came and checked it out. The commission replied that it was impossible to install a ramp, and, in general, that would have been the end of it. But they said: "Let's give you an apartment. Instead of a ramp."

      According to the man, he did not initially expect any apartment and thought that at best they would help him install a ramp or a special lift that would allow him to descend in a wheelchair from his floor. But the officials decided to go further, promising suitable comfortable housing. And they still haven't fulfilled their promises.

      "It's like I wasn't counting on housing," said the Kirov resident. — After all, as I expected, there are such electric lifts, you can ride on it directly in a wheelchair, and you can climb the steps on it. At least somehow. You see, an ambulance, a fire or something... They can't even take me out of my apartment. But they started talking about housing. We were advised that we should go to court, and then housing would be provided as a matter of priority. We appealed to the court, and the court's decision was made in December 2023. The positive. Then the administration replied that I would be resettled by October 2024. But the court's decision is not being implemented at all."

      The Kirov resident added that the administration had informed him that there were no suitable apartments for wheelchair users on the market, so they could not buy it, but they wanted to build a house in which people with disabilities could live. But the authorities can't even say where this house will be, in which area. They only say that it is expected to be completed in 2026.

      "They say, 'You know, one day there will be a house.' But when will it be? I say, tell me the address. They said, "We don't know." It's very strange, how can you plan a house if you don't even have an address?" our interlocutor wonders.

      Until now, Kirov residents have to live in conditions in which they cannot just go outside for a walk. Moreover, you can't even use a wheelchair to go to the toilet or bathroom. "I'm locked in a room," the man said. — I can't go to the bathroom or anywhere else. The accommodation is not suitable for living. I can't even wash properly."

      At our request, the Kirov administration reported exactly the same thing: they say there is no suitable housing on the market, and therefore the authorities will build a new house. Where is unknown. Below we publish the response of the officials.:

      "The administration is executing the decision of the Pervomaisky District Court to provide a disabled person using a wheelchair with a habitable dwelling. Due to the fact that the administration does not have available municipal living quarters suitable for a disabled person using a wheelchair, and there is no possibility of retrofitting municipal living quarters in accordance with the necessary requirements, as well as the lack of such living quarters on the real estate market, the administration decided to build a municipal apartment building in which, In addition to the usual comfortable apartments, comfortable living quarters suitable for wheelchair users will be provided. The Department of Construction and Development of Engineering Infrastructure has been instructed to organize competitive procedures to determine a contractor for the construction of a house, followed by the conclusion of a municipal contract in the first half of 2025, with the condition that the construction of the house be completed in 2026."

      We also contacted Alexander Nikulin, a deputy of the Kirov City Duma, with whom the Kirov resident had previously communicated about his problem. The deputy confirmed that the authorities would indeed build a house (more precisely, two houses) and that funds had already been allocated in the budget for this. However, it is still unknown where these houses will appear.

      "The administration has been unable to build houses with apartments for the disabled for a long time," Alexander Nikulin told us. — We wanted to purchase such apartments on the secondary market, but I don't know why, we decided to build a house with such apartments again. In my opinion, the administration doesn't need to build housing, they can't do it, they need to buy ready-made apartments. In this case, there is a problem with the requirements for living quarters for the disabled. Apparently, there are no such apartments on the secondary market, although the administration said that if such an apartment is found by the disabled person himself, funds may be allocated for its purchase."

      According to the deputy, according to his information, the Kirov administration now has more than 20 court decisions that decide to provide wheelchair users with suitable housing. In fact, there are many more people experiencing such problems. And not all of them know that they need to go to court, which will give them a small chance to get comfortable housing. However, in the distant future.