Nestled near a busy intersection on the north end of Spokane, Washington, lies a small modular house with black siding and lots of windows.
It’s a home built by Matt’s Place Foundation, a nonprofit based out of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The organization provides accessible housing options for people with ALS.
“Long story short, my husband was diagnosed with ALS when he was 41 years old. That was about ten and a half years ago,” said Theresa Whitlock-Wild, the nonprofit’s co-founder.
Her husband, Matthew Wild, served as a Marine in the 1990s. When he was diagnosed, the couple had support from Veterans Affairs. But that left them wondering what people who don’t have VA assistance were doing.
That led to their idea to build smart homes designed specifically for people with ALS.
Now, the organization has built two homes. The first one is in Coeur d’Alene, and the second one is in Spokane.
Ryan Riddock and his service dog, Maverick, are the first residents of the Spokane house. Matt’s Place Foundation houses are designed to support one family at a time.
When Riddock was diagnosed with ALS, his doctors told him he’d live 3 to 5 years. Over a decade later, he’s in the 10% of people who survive more than a decade with ALS.
It’s estimated that around 34,000 adults in the U.S. currently live with ALS. That number is expected to rise more than 10% in the next five years, according to data from the National ALS Registry.
For Riddock, the first signs of ALS were subtle. He knew something was off when he wasn’t able to make it down a ski run, and when he was limping during a golf game with his brother.
Now, he’s in a wheelchair and has a ventilator connected to his nose to help him breathe.
“I didn’t think I was going to live past, you know, 2018 or so … I was looking at, you know, my future being going into a home, or I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Riddock said.
He said that’s when Matt’s Place Foundation found him and helped him move out of his old apartment.
Riddock uses tools like eye tracking software and a small joystick to control everything from the house’s temperature, his cellphone, the blinds, the lights and even opening the front door — all remotely.
Whitlock-Wild said there just aren’t homes built for the level of accessibility required for people with ALS.
“How many of them do you ever see that are advertised that are built for full accessibility? They’re not. A family has to financially actually figure that out on their own,” she said.
In his new home, Riddock doesn’t pay rent and has caregiving support about 16 hours a day.
“The reality is somebody with ALS is always going, as they progress, will need a caregiver. Whether that’s in a care facility, nursing home, or in the home, right? They need to have somebody that can be their hands to help them with the things we need,” Whitlock-Wild said.
Riddock said advocates who are raising awareness about ALS are doing a good job, but he added that the disease is still not really understood.
“I think one of the most difficult things for me, from the beginning … is losing control of your life. Not being able to make your own decisions or being so reliant on other people that you just don’t have any agency,” Riddock said.
Whitlock-Wild said the nonprofit is now working on building its next house, which will also be in Spokane.
