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CLEAR Temp: 68 °F Wind: S at 6 mph Sunday, October 13, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 24, 2002 Lion statues appropriately greet visitors on the front steps to the Lions Cottage, a four-apartment complex constructed for disabled and elderly low-income people by the Southern Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Center. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Tenant enjoys Lions’ housing for disabled By ARIEL VAN ZET Mail Tribune Ex-New Yorker Thomas A. Micciche has a colorful personality and is a bit of a joker. He is all sincerity, however, when he offers his gratitude to the Southern Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Center. "I am well-satisfied. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude," he says. And the reason? His new 700-square-foot apartment designed for disabled people. "It has all the amenities," said Micciche, 66, who is blind. The apartment is one of four in a new Victorian-style complex known as Lions Cottage, the second effort of the Southern Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Center to bring affordable housing to the disabled and elderly. Lions Cottage joins the Lions center’s Holly Court, finished in 1998, to provide a total of 12 affordable housing units to the community. All of the apartments are on the 200 block of North Holly Street. To accommodate the disabilities of Micciche and future tenants, the two downstairs apartments of Lions Cottage include fully accessible bathrooms with roll-in showers complete with shower seats and sinks that are open below to allow a wheelchair to fit underneath. Electrical outlets are slightly raised on the wall, and the thermostat is lower. The washer and dryer are front-loading and the stove and kitchen sink are lower than usual. Lights flash when the apartments’ doorbells ring or when their smoke alarms sound. To qualify for residence in Lions Cottage, a person must be either disabled or at least 60 years old and cannot have an income that exceeds federal poverty guidelines. The complex has two one-bedroom apartments that rent for $250 a month each; two two-bedroom units go for $365 a month apiece. The Lions center has contracted with the social service agency ACCESS to manage the apartments. ACCESS screens applicants and uses a point system to give them an apartment or place them on a waiting list. Lions Cottage is the culmination of a three-year effort to obtain state funding to pay for the $476,000 project, said Sherrie Messer, Lions executive director. The center eventually collected about $400,000 through the state’s Department of Housing and Community Services and another $60,000 or so in local grants. The organization chipped in $7,500 of its own money. "(Getting the state funding) was time-consuming. In the meantime, (property owners Lorin and Margaret Jakobs) could have sold it. But they didn’t," Messer said. "They were very patient." Currently, Micciche and one elderly woman live in Lions Cottage. Another disabled tenant is expected to move in shortly. ACCESS has yet to choose the fourth. As for Micciche, though he says his new home will take a little time to get used to, his pleasure is apparent. "I just want to make sure my gratitude to the Lions center is expressed," he said. Reach news intern Ariel Van Zet at 776-4477 Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S