COLUMBUS, Ohio — A nonprofit called Creative Living is celebrating 50 years of service in Columbus. The apartment community near Ohio State's campus provides affordable, wheelchair-accessible housing to people with physical disabilities.
Those who work there are focused on fundraising this year to help maintain their mission and to keep their housing affordable. Some residents said living there has improved their lives and helped them gain independence.
Maxwell Damron moved in about three years ago.
"This is by far beyond what I thought I would be, where I would be living around doing, going out with my friends," he said.
Damron is one of the 34 residents who live in one of the two Creative Living apartment communities. There are more than 50 resident assistants who provide help when needed.
"We do little things for them so they can do big things and concentrate on things like their passion, or their work, or their school, or things like that, to just make their lives better," Development Director Chris Schweitzer said.
This is an opportunity Mike Blake didn't know was possible back in 1989 when his life changed. He fell off a slate roof at work when he was 35 and suffered a spinal cord injury.
After multiple surgeries and physical therapy, Blake wasn't looking to move back in with his parents or a nursing facility, but those were looking like his only options.
Blake said he still gets emotional thinking about the time he first visited.
"I came in here. I was like 'Oh my God. There's these apartments and all these people in wheelchairs are living here, and they're living independently' and I was just,...just the world opened up for me just seeing that," he said.
For the nonprofit's 50th anniversary, its workers are hosting different fundraisers to help further its mission.
"So that there is that possibility for those people that have just suffered these kinds of injuries or that feel there's nothing better for them to do to have an opportunity to do that," Schweitzer said.
After moving in and because of the proximity, Blake started attending classes at Ohio State.
"I got a degree in computer science and engineering and then I got a job at the Ohio Department of Transportation," he said.
Creative Living hopes to give more people who want independence and have a physical disability an opportunity like Blake had.
"I've just been able to have a really good life and continue to," Blake said.
Dick Maxwell's story inspired the idea of Creative Living. In 1963 he was rendered quadriplegic after a neck injury while playing an intermural football game at OSU. After two years of surgeries and rehabilitation, Maxwell was now in a wheelchair and ready to return to classes.
While back on campus, he noticed a lack of accessibility and suitable housing. This is according to information found on the Creative Living website. He had to rely heavily on family and friends to navigate campus. This often required lifting his manual wheelchair into university buildings.
The challenges Maxwell faced were starting to get noticed by disability advocates and community leaders who worked together to find a solution to the many challenges he faced. Maxwell's desire to live independently while needing occasional assistance inspired Creative Living.