Access to housing is an essential part of economic opportunity for all people, and especially for people with disabilities… We need to rethink what truly inclusive disability-forward housing looks like. We need to stop saying we’re going to tweak the institution or build the same models we have for years, instead go proximal to people with disabilities and ask what does inclusive housing look like and if we create something from scratch, what would it look like? We’re excited to do this work in the collaborative in partnership with our allies in the field.
– Micaela Connery, Co-Founder and CEO
The Disability Economic Justice Collaborative has Launched!
The Disability Economic Justice Collaborative was launched by The Century Foundation in partnership with The Ford Foundation with the purpose of breaking the persistent link between disability and poverty. More information about the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative and their work can be found on their website.
The Launch of the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative featured many notable speakers who emphasized the importance of leveling the playing field for people with disabilities in terms of economic fairness. As Julian Castro, former HUD Secretary, said during the event about economic justice for people with disabilities “There’s no denying a lot of progress has been made….but there’s no denying a lot of progress still has to be made.” The goal of this new collaborative and the policies it seeks to lift up are about truly expanding both visibility of issues of disability policy and the commitments and programs needed to make true community inclusion a reality. Summed up by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, “We’re not fighting for scraps, we’re fighting for liberation.” Read more from the launch here and on the live twitter thread. After the launch event, The Century Foundation Disability Economic Justice Collaborative released a new report: ‘Economic Justice Is Disability Justice’. This includes many staggering statistics on housing opportunities for people with disabilities.
Achieving economic justice for all disabled people is intrinsically tied to ensuring that all people with and without disabilities can live in housing that is affordable, accessible and inclusive. The Kelsey is humbled to join the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative, where we will work in partnership to embed disability forward housing solutions into this national economic justice agenda for people with disabilities.
– Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing
Stay tuned for more impact to come from the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative.