'Help me buy the home that would transform my life'

A man living with muscular dystrophy has launched a crowdfunder to help buy his own home.

Calum Grevers is fighting to do what most 20-somethings take for granted – living independently from their family.

But, facing a three-year wait for a suitable council house, he’s decided to use a special scheme open to people with disabilities, as well as first-time buyers and the over 60s.

The open-market shared equity (OSME) programme allows him to pay 60% of a property’s cost, with the Scottish Government holding the rest in a shared equity agreement.

He needs £30,000 for a deposit and essential adaptations, but since he’s on a low income he’s launched a crowdfunder.

The 27-year-old computer science graduate from Edinburgh said: “I had some adaptations done to my parents’ house three or four years ago, but that left me further down the [council] waiting list.

“I was looking at waiting about three years.

“My needs are very specific. I think it [buying a home] would feel like I’ve started the next stage of my life and have the freedom to learn more about myself and pursue new experiences.”

Olivia Lindsay, head of casework at Housing Options Scotland, says Calum is far from an isolated case.

She told STV News: “We work with quite a lot of people who are in a similar position to Calum, so much so that we’ve actually created a specific project to work with young people who are looking at independent living options.

“There has to be a recognition there, that this is a viable, valid reason for wanting to move out.

“It’s a rite of passage and something that we should be enabling people to do but there’s quite a lot of barriers.”

Calum hopes that his campaign opens up a wider conversation.

“As a society we need to ask ourselves whether we want to build cities that include everyone, or ones that keep people separated,” he said.