Aspire launched its 20th house on Friday 1st April in association with Guinness South, a member of the Guinness Partnership. The Aspire House in Islington will give people with spinal injuries the opportunity to enjoy fully accessible accommodation while their long term housing solution is being arranged. The house was officially launched by local MP and Shadow Health and Social Care Minister, Emily Thornberry.

Stephen Keer is the property’s first tenant and he took the opportunity on the day to thank the charity for giving him back his independence. Stephen said, “If it were not for Aspire providing this house whilst my own home is being adapted, I would have been forced to stay in a nursing home. At my age, this would have been inappropriate. Since leaving hospital and moving into the Aspire house, I feel my true rehabilitation has begun.”

This latest property was made possible thanks to generous funding, through staff fundraising efforts, from the accountancy firm, Wilkins Kennedy. Aspire’s Chief Executive, Brian Carlin said, “Our work supporting people with spinal injury relies on the generosity of organisations such as these. We are especially grateful to Wilkins Kennedy whose commitment to this project has enabled us to build a home that will genuinely make a huge difference to many families on their journey to independence,”

Providing accessible housing is one of Aspire’s key services, and it is still a major area of need. “Many patients are still unable to be discharged from a Spinal Injury Centre, despite having completed their rehabilitation programme, because their own homes are inappropriate for wheelchairs and there is a lack of alternative accommodation. They face months of uncertainty while they search for somewhere to live or arrange to have adaptations made to their house. This Aspire house will help ease such problems for all its future tenants and will give their independence a massive boost,” said Belinda Milrod, Aspire’s Housing Manager.