Andrew and Lud Kerec: Inclusion starts at home

Ed and Carol meet with Andrew and Lud Kerec. Andrew and Lud are the father and son owners of Renaissance Homes, winners of the ACT Chief Ministers Award for Access and Inclusion for their work on designing and building accessible homes. Following a cycling accident in 2010 Lud became a quadriplegic which lead to the need to adapt Andrew's family home to accommodate Lud starting Renaissance Homes on their journey to becoming a leading provider of accessible housing designs. They give a fascinating insight into the fact that when we experience disability the most disabling thing is often the very houses in which we live; post injury Lud found he was "living in a country where he can't get into 99% of the homes" including those of his own family and friends, decreasing his social networks at a time when he needed them most. Andrew and Lud talk of the great benefits to absolutely everyone of accessible housing design, the affordability of designing homes that are both beautiful and accessible and the need for urgent policy change to support greater accessibility of design as a standard across the building industry. We also hear about Lud and Andrew's incredible adventures and travels across Australia following his injury showing how, with a focus on goals a little ingenuity and imagining what might be possible, there continues to be amazing quality of life possible after injury. Renaissance Homes website: http://www.renhomes.net.au/ Andrew Builds a Future for his Dad (City News article): https://citynews.com.au/2017/andrew-builds-future-dad/