1 in 4 people have a disability, yet for generations, disabled people have been explicitly left out or considered an afterthought in the US housing market. This has led to disabled people facing disproportionate barriers to accessing, affording, and securing housing. All of this is experienced most acutely by disabled people of color, people with extremely low and no income, and people who need supportive services in their homes. These barriers lead to people with disabilities experiencing the highest levels of housing discrimination, homelessness, housing instability, and rent burden. Despite this need, mainstream housing policy, development, and design often fail to include disabled people and the perspectives of people with disabilities on what an accessible and inclusive housing future looks like.

A critical step in creating a future where all disabled people live in housing that is affordable, accessible, and inclusive is to garner more political and social will amongst government and non-governmental decision-makers. This can only happen by disabled people strategically sharing their stories of this housing crisis and the necessary solutions. Therefore, an explicit investment must be made in disabled advocates uniting and sharing their housing stories for narrative and political change.

Convened by The Kelsey and facilitated by staff with lived experience, this year-long virtual cohort will amplify housing stories and insights from disabled leaders nationwide to elevate the need for disability-forward housing solutions. These stories will dismantle the dominant narratives about disability and housing that continue to propel exclusionary, ableist policies and practices. Through meeting with narrative change experts and garnering the power of peer-to-peer support, members will receive education and training on strategic storytelling for disability-forward housing policy and press and media engagement.