The General Land Office will make additional accommodations to a Houston woman’s home to make it more accessibility for her needs.
“I’m feeling fine. So much better than yesterday,” said Margaret Kirby.
KPRC 2 reported on Kirby’s situation Monday. She’s living out of a hotel as crews bring her home up to the standards she requires.
Kirby has been working with GLO for some time. The state agency is using federal funds to make the updates Kirby requires after rebuilding the home post Hurricane Harvey.
Tuesday, October 3 morning she did a walk-through with representatives from the TX General Land Office. She was joined by State Senator Borris L. Miles who represents the district.
“They’re making changes and I can be able to get into parts of the house that I wasn’t,” Kirby said. “They’re doing what they can to make it better,” Kirby said.
The agency made the home compliant with Americans with Disability Act requirements as they were rebuilding it, but Kirby needed additional accommodations.
“ADA accommodations are traditionally 32-inch doors, certain heights of different items but she needed some additional mobility so we learned of that a couple of weeks ago and had scheduled this meeting so that we could come in and tour the place with her and see specifically what accommodations we needed to provide to accommodate that,” said Brittany Eck with the state General Land Office. “We were able today to meet with her. We had a really good talk, walked through the entire house with her. Found even some small things that might be able to be improved so that her quality of life, accessibility could be improved.”
State Senator Miles represents Kirby’s district and visited the home after seeing our reporting.
“Thanks to you and KPRC on television yesterday with this story. This is my district, born and raised, right here in District 13,” State Senator Miles said. “It’s only right and [Commissioner] Dawn Buckingham who heads up the General Land Office is a former colleague of mine. I know where her heart is and yeah we have regulations for contracts. If there are things, we can change to make people’s lives much safer and much convenient.”
“I thank you because if you hadn’t come forward,” Kirby said. “They just heard about it yesterday and I want to thank you. So far, the people who are here today it seems its working fine.”