The Kelsey’s co-founder and CEO, Micaela Connery, and Housing Development Manager, Katie McAuley, visited Martha’s Vineyard to host a week-long community engagement blitz, culminating in a Disability-Forward Housing Convening. The week included two identity-based listening sessions with members of the Vineyard Independence Partnership and low- to moderate-income Martha’s Vineyard residents.
The Convening was part of a partnership between The Kelsey and Martha’s Vineyard Inclusive Communities (MVIC), a group of passionate Martha’s Vineyard residents who are advocating and organizing for more inclusive housing developments on the island. Over the last 3 months, The Kelsey and MVIC have brought together a cross-disability and cross-sector stakeholder group to create a shared vision and roadmap to develop a housing community that is inclusive, mixed-income, supportive, diverse, and accessible for people with and without disabilities.
MVIC has also engaged The Kelsey in a formal Technical Assistance contract – enlisting our team to advise on best practices and to develop a feasibility analysis for a disability-forward housing development on Martha’s Vineyard. This partnership will culminate in a proposal for a gentle-density, mixed-income housing development.
Our team is excited to continue this work and to eventually see the fruit of this partnership on Martha’s Vineyard.
