2022 Annual Report

When you work in affordable housing there are two big milestones that come just as your project goes from concept to construction—closing and groundbreaking. Closing is the process when financial partners and the development team come together to agree on loan terms, stipulations, and project details and then officially send the funds to get the project started. Groundbreaking is the symbolic day when the first shovels go into the ground as construction officially begins. Besides the fact that 2022 included both groundbreaking and closing at our first two Bay Area communities, The Kelsey Ayer Station and The Kelsey Civic Center, these processes symbolize more about how we approach advancing disability-forward housing across the field.

Like the closing process, much of the work in 2022 at The Kelsey was bringing stakeholders and partners together to support shared strategies for affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing. From designers who adopted the Housing Design Standards for Accessibility and Inclusion, partners who joined us to advance essential research, to disability service orgs utilizing our resources and technical assistance to advance their own housing priorities, The Kelsey’s impact this year was not about our single organization but collective impact we support to create opportunities for many to be part of the vision to build affordable, accessible, and inclusive homes.

Our team broke ground this year on more than just a 115-home disability-forward housing community in San Jose. While that milestone, shared with numerous community partners and Kelsey’s parents, was an incredible one for our mission and our team, the groundbreaking work of creating something where nothing stood before is felt across our efforts. Whether designing new policies needed to create housing opportunities for disabled people within the federal government or building new tools to make the leasing process more accessible to individuals with cognitive disabilities, The Kelsey is creating new opportunities in disability-forward housing where they did not exist before from housing sites to city halls.

The work of The Kelsey co-led by our team of people with and without disabilities is made possible by a generous community of supporters and a passionate network of advocates and partners. Read more for the impact we have made possible together this year to create Home for More.

The Kelsey advances disability-forward housing solutions that open doors to homes and opportunities for everyone. We both co-develop affordable, accessible, inclusive housing and lead advocacy and field-building efforts to create market conditions so inclusive housing becomes the norm.  

Disability Forward – We bring our lived experiences as disabled people and allies to everything we do. We seek to create spaces where disability is a valued part of human identity and communities. We center access, practice interdependence, and value diversity. 

Intentional – We are thoughtful, curious, and deliberate. We deeply understand the systems impacting our work and willingly learn new strategies needed to advance our mission. 

Joyful – We value joy even as we undertake serious work and challenges. We create space for ourselves and our partners to experience community, fun, purpose, and happiness.  

Radically Inclusive – We are welcoming, care-centered, and accepting. We practice hospitality and foster belonging for all people in our community and networks, across their many identities and ideas.

Groundbreaking – We pave new ways to understand and approach the work we do, unconstrained by status quo and stigma. We transparently and willingly share our knowledge with others to make more impact possible and open new opportunities.

Our mighty team of thirteen brings a lot to the table. Composed of people with and without disabilities and scattered across the United States, we share decades of lived experience of disability, deep knowledge of the housing sector, a relentless dedication to our mission, and so much more. 

Of course, we can’t do this alone. We are endlessly grateful to our amazing Board of Directors and Advisors for sharing their expertise and believing in this work. Click here to learn more about The Kelsey team.

2022 Donors

In 2023, we affirm our commitment to building inclusive housing communities that meet immediate housing needs and demonstrate scalable new models of disability-forward housing. 

We are preparing for lease-up for our first two California communities and expanding into new markets in response to community requests nationwide. We are digging deeper with our advocacy efforts to make affordable, inclusive, accessible housing available in more communities. We continue to strengthen the housing field by providing the tools and resources people need so that every community is equipped to be disability-forward.

We’re so excited for the road ahead and endlessly grateful to everyone in The Kelsey community for believing in our work and helping us achieve Home for More. 

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