2023 Annual Report

So many technologies, social justice movements, artists, and innovations launched in San Francisco and Silicon Valley and then spread throughout the country from there. In 2023, that was also true for The Kelsey. As we broke ground at The Kelsey Civic Center, our second Bay Area community, we also helped bring disability-forward housing strategies into new communities nationally. 

Our Plain Language Leasing Documents were open-sourced for housing developers and advocates, with workshops from California to Georgia supporting their implementation in new communities. In Birmingham, Alabama we convened local leaders and community members around a shared vision for disability-forward housing in that community that is now being brought to life. In Washington D.C., Allie Cannington, who leads our policy work, testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on the shortage of accessible, affordable housing. We launched new Technical Assistance projects in four new communities and trained architecture firms across the country on the Inclusive Design Standards to infuse access into their work. The Kelsey was featured in the New York Times, Shelterforce, CNBC, and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards.

Each week we hear from new communities, spanning almost every state in the country, seeking support in their own efforts to advance inclusive housing that enriches their communities and supports their loved ones. Alongside each community’s uniqueness, they’re the same in both a deep need for disability-forward solutions and a passionate willingness to align local partners and resources towards a shared vision for an inclusive housing future. We are grateful for the opportunity to help them advance that vision, and for the supporters who make it possible.

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 team at The Kelsey has continued to grow. Together, we drive disability-forward housing across advocacy, development, field building, and resident services. We bring lived experiences and allyship into our work, creating spaces that honor disability as a valued part of human identity. We approach even the most serious challenges with joy, believing that meaningful work thrives when infused with purpose, fun, and community.

Our team does not do this work alone. We are endlessly grateful to our amazing Board of Directors and Advisors for guiding us and championing our work. Click here to learn more about The Kelsey team.

Build new models of inclusive housing that meet immediate housing needs and demonstrate new models, opportunities, and gaps in disability-forward housing.

Develop and disseminate vetted playbooks, robust research, and field capacity that make inclusive housing universally understood and widely implementable.

Influence market conditions that unlock opportunities for inclusive housing, everywhere.

2023 Donors

In 2024 and 2025, the communities we’ve spent the last several years creating will become filled with residents. Residents, many for whom this will be their first home, will be supported and welcomed into a new community at The Kelsey. Opening our doors also allows others to see that disability-forward housing that is truly affordable, accessible, and inclusive is possible and achievable. We’ll take what we’ve learned in building and opening these communities to support disability-forward housing in new cities, change policies that make these developments possible at scale, and align a field of advocates and experts to work together towards a truly inclusive housing future.

As we reflect on our accomplishments in 2023, we are reminded of the deep partnerships that are so vital to this work. Thank you to everyone who makes this work possible—from community advocates, to development partners, to generous funders—we truly could not do this without you.

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