In 2024, the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department launched a groundbreaking collaboration with The Kelsey, a national non-profit organization advancing disability-forward housing. This partnership aims to address the accessible housing needs of Teton County, with a focus on developing housing for older adults and people with disabilities, as directed by the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of Commissioners.
The Kelsey brings its unique skill set of advocating for and developing disability-forward communities. Through this approach, 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. This disability-forward lens was brought to the study to not only serve the more than 1,500 Teton County residents living with disabilities and over 3,600 residents aged 65 or older but to serve the entire county by creating a more inclusive community.
When conducting this study and crafting policy recommendations, we centered the experience of 61 million people in the US living with a disability and 53% of the population impacted as a disabled person, caregiver, or family member of a person with disabilities; the individuals who rely on Supplemental Security Income and are priced out of every US housing market; the young adult with intellectual disabilities who participated in inclusive programming throughout childhood, only to find that their options to live in a community are now limited and may force them into segregated housing; and the parent dealing with end-of-life care plans considering what will happen to their middle-aged child with developmental disabilities who they’ve lived with their entire life.
This report aims to equip Teton County with the resources needed to create a community where housing is designed to meet these individuals’ access needs. A community intentionally built to include people who have diverse access needs where one can find buildings that have features that make it possible for all people to live in an integrated, mixed income community. A community that has a network of affordable, accessible, inclusive living options–what we define as disability-forward housing.