Julie Sawchuk: Advocating for Accessibility

When she was 41 — a high school teacher and mother of two — Julie Sawchuk was hit by a car while biking, and that accident resulted in a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down, and changed her life forever.  She and her husband built a new home that was fully accessible to her, and which in turn led her to a new career — helping people build better residential and commercial spaces for all. The co-author of the soon-to-be-released book, “Building Better Bathrooms,” Sawchuk thinks of accessible design as an umbrella that must include three elements: safety, independence and dignity. “It’s just not about a turning circle on the floor of a drawing [for a wheelchair] or the width of a doorway — there’s so much more to it.” On the podcast, Sawchuk talks about her journey and her mission to have people rethink home design. Go to juliesawchuk.ca to discover more.