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A woman in a wheelchair recently posted a video on Facebook showing what it is like, from her perspective, to live on a non-elevator access level in an HDB flat with a narrow hallway.
In a four-minute video uploaded on March 8, Facebook user Cocoanna Christian shows her daily struggles to navigate her place of residence in Block 906, located along Jurong West Street 91.
According to Ms. Cocoanna in her position, she lives on the seventh floor of the building, which does not have an elevator.
In order to access the elevator on his block, he said he would have to head to the central elevator area via the common hall, either on the sixth or eighth floor.
“My daily struggle living on a # 07 non-elevator access level. So I need to get to the central elevator area via corridors # 06 or # 08.”
However, things are not as easy as they seem for Ms. Cocoanna, given her circumstances.
She noted that her arms are often scratched by the plants that are placed along the hallways. He added that he also has to get through the smell of stinky shoes outside nearly every unit.
Also, Ms Cocoanna said that she has to be very careful not to fall down the hallway drain because there is hardly room for her to get through with a wheelchair.
“It’s not easy since my arms are scratched with all the twigs and branches of the potted plants, or the shoes smell stinky
out of the unit due to my height while in a wheelchair. You have to be very careful not to fall down the hall drain because the space is so tight. “
It is true that the video she shared clearly shows the haunting reality of each of her descriptions, as she carefully rolls her wheelchair through narrow corridors while doing her best to stay clear of obstacles (plants, footwear, and coat rack. ) that are on your way.
Check out the video here:
According to Ms Cocoanna, the difficult situation of having to go through her own ‘HDB obstacle course’ prevented her from going out a lot in the last six years since she got sick.
However, he claimed that he now has to travel alternate days for his blood dialysis treatment.
“And that’s why I don’t go out much in the last 6 years since I got sick. But now he had to travel alternate days for blood dialysis. #CanYouSeeFromMyPointOfView #GottenStayReslient #HDBObstaclesCourse
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To get a clearer picture of the layout of Ms. Cocoanna’s place of residence, here is a Google Street image of the HDB floor of block 906.
Netizens ask if he had communicated with his neighbors and local authorities.
In the comment section of her Facebook post, netizens were quick to express their sympathy and express their good wishes to Ms. Cocoanna.
Some of them asked him if he had contacted his neighbors and local authorities, that is, the local council, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the Member of Parliament (MP) in his area.
In response, Ms. Cocoanna noted that some of the neighbors are friendly and helpful, while others just don’t care.
He also said that he wrote to his MP a few weeks ago and visited him on Monday (March 15) to discuss his situation. He added that the HDB responded through his MP saying that there is no plan to improve the elevator on his floor.
Regarding the local council, Ms Cocoanna mentioned that they did visit the units that had objects improperly placed along the common hallways. They told him that the tenants agreed to make the necessary changes to comply with the standard rules.
However, as of Wednesday night (March 17), he noted that minimal changes have been made along the aisles.
When Ms Cocoanna was asked by someone who is the MP in her area, she responded with a link addressed to Ang Wei Neng from the People’s Action Party (PAP).
Objects should not be placed along common aisles less than 1.2 meters wide; clothes racks are also not allowed
According to the ‘Guidelines on the use of the common corridor‘By the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF), objects should not be placed along common corridors less than 1.2 meters wide.
Items such as clothes racks are also not allowed unless they can be easily folded or removed in times of emergency so that they do not obstruct the escape route.
As seen in the video uploaded by Ms. Cocoanna, some residents certainly did not receive the memo.
