The Wheelchair Accessible Option: Craigslist Finally Listens


clIn August, a petition on Change.org asked for Craigslist to add a wheelchair accessible option to its housing listings. A very cool woman by the name of Altaira Hatton from Portland, Ore.,  came up with the idea.

The idea came to her last year while she was house hunting in the Bay Area of California, wasting hours a day just trying to find one place that was wheelchair accessible. Since it wasn’t possible to tell if a property was or wasn’t wheelchair accessible by looking on Craigslist, the only way to find out was to contact the sellers directly.

But sometimes, as in Altaria’s case, you just can’t get in touch with the owner; especially on an open house day. I can’t bear to think of all the gas that she burned on that futile adventure. In fact, it became so difficult to find anything accessible in the Bay Area that she decided to move to Portland, Ore. And that was when she decided to post her petition on Change.org. Check it out

After her petition was up for a few months, it received a whopping 8,829 signatures — and that perked Craigslist’s ears.  The website finally heard what Altaria was saying — hellooo, a badly needed wheelchair accessible search feature needs to happen. It’s awesome seeing movements like this actually be successful.

Now when you’re posting new housing on Craigslist, you can a click a box that says “wheelchair accessible” so people will know it’s accessible. It’s a simple thing that means so much, and it will save the time of many.

Thank you Craigslist for finally listening to the requests of thousands and adding this badly needed “accessible” feature. It says a lot about a company when it listen to its customers, even if the changes that need to be made might be a bit awkward.

See the changes yourself: Craiglist

What else would you like a see added or changed to Craigslist for your disability?

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Anita
Anita
8 years ago

I’ve been trying for years to find a cup holder that can carry a cup with a handle (like a coffee cup).

I have round tubular armrest covered foam and are horizontal. Nothing I’ve seen fits this need.