At The Kelsey, years of research, focus groups, and site visits have shown us that disability-inclusive housing is not just about the physical space or the supportive services—it is about how those elements come together to create opportunities for people to thrive in community life. Central to this vision is the Inclusion Concierge, a resident-centered and community-facing role co-designed with people with disabilities. Inclusion Concierges foster belonging, connect residents to services, and bridge housing operations with community life, ensuring that living at The Kelsey is not simply about having a home but being part of a vibrant and inclusive community.
This resource is designed for organizations and practitioners working to advance disability-forward housing who want to learn from and replicate The Kelsey’s Inclusion Concierge model. The Inclusion Concierge is central to our vision of housing that goes beyond bricks and mortar to foster belonging, support access, and create vibrant, interdependent communities for people with and without disabilities
We welcome others to draw on this resource in ways that best fit their resident services programs. For those who would like to directly adopt and utilize the Inclusion Concierge role by name, The Kelsey can provide technical assistance and facilitate cross-learning opportunities between our team and yours. For organizations with existing or adjacent resident services programs, we welcome you to incorporate elements from here into your own approach.
We ask that this resource not be shared directly with others. Instead, please direct interested colleagues or partners to The Kelsey. This ensures we can track, connect with, and support everyone using or adapting this model, building a network of practitioners committed to inclusive housing.
Operating Process and Strategy
A Disability-Forward Approach
Resident Services at The Kelsey are rooted in our CARE framework: compassion, awareness, respect, and entrepreneurial problem-solving. This framework is applied in every interaction. Compassion guides empathetic responses to residents’ needs. Awareness ensures that staff remain attentive to emerging issues,. Respect of residents’ dignity and autonomy is central to all approaches. Entrepreneurial thinking allows staff to find creative solutions to complex community living challenges.
At its core, the Resident Services Program and Inclusion Concierge model is distinguished by its unwavering commitment to disability-forward resident services. Unlike traditional housing support models, our approach integrates accessibility, equity, and person-centered practices across every interaction and activity. This means ensuring residents with disabilities can fully participate in community life through thoughtful attention to mobility, communication, sensory processing, and cognitive access needs. ICs provide a wide range of supports, navigating services, coordinating with property management, fostering social connections, and organizing inclusive events grounded in dignity, autonomy, and belonging. By embedding these practices into the daily fabric of housing, The Kelsey ensures that residents with disabilities are not just accommodated, but are active contributors to and leaders in vibrant, interdependent communities.
The program’s process begins before residents move in. ICs reach out early to provide orientation and support, ensuring that individuals with and without disabilities, many of whom may be transitioning from institutions, homelessness, or challenging prior housing situations, experience a smooth and dignified move-in.
Each new resident participates in a Welcome Meeting, where ICs help identify personal goals, access needs, and community interests, setting the tone for a positive housing experience from day one. ICs also facilitate Circles of Support, helping residents recognize and strengthen the formal and informal networks—family, friends, neighbors, and service providers—that sustain their well-being and belonging.
Once residents are in their homes, ICs build ongoing relationships by checking in regularly, supporting access to services, coordinating with property management when needs arise, and fostering community through inclusive programming and resident-led connections.
Unlike many housing models where services are reactive, The Kelsey embeds proactive support into its daily operations. This allows residents to thrive rather than simply remain housed. For residents with disabilities, the approach is particularly critical: it ensures that accessibility and individualized supports are not an afterthought, but a central part of community life.
Operations and Budget
The Inclusion Concierge Program is intentionally designed to be both comprehensive and financially sustainable, embedding resident services as a core function of housing operations.
Staffing costs represent the largest investment, accounting for approximately 90% of the budget. Each community has two Inclusion Concierge team members, including one staff member who lives on-site in the community. To ensure stability, the budget covers benefits, payroll taxes, and employee-related operating costs.
Program and community-building expenses are also built into the model. These include bi-monthly resident connection events ($12,000 annually), annual training costs for staff ($2,000), and supplies for program delivery ($2,000). These resources ensure that the ICs can deliver high-quality programming, organize inclusive community events, and sustain resident engagement.
This budget reflects The Kelsey’s commitment to making resident services a permanent, embedded feature of housing operations, not an add-on or optional service. By aligning resources with our values of accessibility, belonging, and interdependence, we demonstrate a replicable model that can be scaled across disability-forward housing communities.
The Resident Services Structure
The Kelsey’s Resident Services program operates within a structured but flexible framework. The Resident Services Manager oversees the team, providing supervision, professional development, and strategic direction. The Inclusion Concierge team reports directly to the Resident Services Manager. This structure ensures alignment across properties, consistency in training, and accountability in service delivery.
Role Structure:
- Resident Services Manager: Provides oversight, manages training and evaluation, and collaborates with property management at the organizational level.
- Inclusion Concierge (ICs): The front-line staff is stationed at the front desk and throughout the community. They deliver resident-facing services, connect residents to supports, and facilitate community life.
- Property Management and Maintenance Teams: Partners in daily operations, ensuring that housing, services, and community needs are addressed in a coordinated way.
This approach integrates resident services into the heart of housing operations. ICs ensure that concerns, especially those impacting residents with disabilities or residents who need more support, are surfaced quickly and resolved through collaboration with both property management and external service providers.
The Inclusion Concierge Role
The Inclusion Concierge is the cornerstone of the Resident Services program. Created in partnership with people with disabilities, the role blends hospitality, advocacy, and service coordination. It is designed to close the gaps often found in traditional housing models, where individuals may be left to navigate services on their own.
Core responsibilities include:
- Creating Welcoming Community: ICs greet residents and guests, facilitate introductions, and model inclusion. This is especially important for residents with disabilities who may have previously experienced exclusion or isolation.
- Connecting to Services: ICs help residents access and coordinate supports such as personal care, healthcare, employment, and community-based programs. For residents with disabilities, this often involves navigating complex systems of eligibility and services. ICs provide hands-on guidance, advocacy, and follow-up.
- Programming for Inclusion: ICs organize and lead Inclusion Hours, which are community events that are inclusively designed to be accessible and enjoyable. These might include activities such as nutrition or budgeting workshops, neighborhood walks, inclusive holiday celebrations, or community dinners. Beyond staff-led events, ICs support residents in creating and leading their own gatherings, empowering residents to take leadership roles and ensuring that community life reflects the interests and identities of those who live there.
- Supporting Housing Retention: By conducting wellness checks, assisting with recertifications, and addressing early signs that could affect housing stability, ICs help residents stay stably housed. This is especially impactful for residents with disabilities who may face systemic risks to long-term housing stability.
- Crisis Support: ICs are trained in trauma-informed care, Mental Health First Aid, and harm reduction, enabling them to de-escalate crises and connect residents to appropriate emergency or clinical services.
ICs play a critical role in coordinating with external case managers and service providers to ensure residents receive consistent, aligned support. Many residents at The Kelsey are connected to case managers through regional centers, In-Home Support Services, healthcare systems, or nonprofit agencies. ICs connect these external supports, facilitating communication, sharing relevant updates, and ensuring service plans align with residents’ housing stability and community goals. This coordination is especially important for residents with Section 811 vouchers or those transitioning from institutional or unstable housing, where multiple agencies may be involved. By collaborating with case managers, ICs reduce duplication of effort, prevent gaps in care, and create a more seamless experience for residents. This partnership-driven approach ensures that housing is not siloed from essential services but fully integrated into the broader network of supports that residents rely on to thrive.
More than a staff member, the IC is a trusted partner and advocate, bridging the gap between formal systems of care and the lived daily experiences of residents.
Want to Learn More?
Read our article, “Inclusion Concierge: Top Considerations for Resident Services for Disability Inclusive Communities,” in the Learn Center.
Access the ArticleTraining and Development
The Kelsey invests deeply in training its Inclusion Concierge staff to ensure they are prepared for the complexities of the role. Training is layered and ongoing, emphasizing disability-forward practices, trauma-informed care, and community building.
Training Areas:
- Disability 101: An introduction to disability rights, language, and justice. ICs learn both people-first and identity-first language and explore how disability intersects with other aspects of identity.
- Resident-Centered Service: ICs practice inclusive communication strategies and motivational interviewing, ensuring that each interaction is respectful, empathetic, and tailored to the individual.
- Crisis Response: Training in recognizing and responding to signs of mental health challenges, substance use, or interpersonal crises equips ICs to act quickly while maintaining dignity and safety.
- Community Building: ICs design and facilitate events rooted in inclusive design principles, ensuring full participation of residents with and without disabilities.
- Safety and Boundaries: Staff are trained to maintain healthy professional boundaries while remaining approachable and supportive. This prevents burnout and ensures consistency in relationships.
Ongoing professional development includes 40 hours of continuing education over two years, team retreats, and site-specific joint trainings with property management. This collaborative training reinforces shared responsibility for housing stability and resident well-being.
Collaboration with Site Teams
A defining feature of The Kelsey’s approach is the Team-Based Model. Property management, maintenance, and Inclusion Concierge staff work side by side to ensure a seamless resident experience. This integration avoids the common silo effect, where housing operations and resident support are disconnected.
Collaboration includes:
- Daily Standups: Short check-ins to share priorities and coordinate immediate needs.
- Weekly Meetings: Longer sessions to review housing retention cases, plan community programming, and address emerging issues.
- Shared Communication Tools: Including newsletters, bulletin boards, and digital updates that highlight resources, events, and community announcements.
This partnership ensures that resident support is consistent and coordinated. The benefit for residents with disabilities is clear: ICs can surface access or support needs quickly, and property management can respond in alignment with inclusion goals rather than simply enforcing compliance.
Measuring Impact and Evaluation Strategies
The Kelsey’s evaluation framework is designed to ensure that resident services are not only delivered consistently, but are also effective in advancing our disability-forward mission. Impact is measured across four core resident outcomes: housing accessibility, access to services, community connection, and personal well-being. These outcomes are intentionally tied to the Social Determinants of Health, including economic stability, healthcare access, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context, underscoring how housing stability and inclusion are directly linked to health equity.
Evaluation begins before move-in with the Housing Experience Survey, establishing a baseline of resident needs, experiences, and expectations. Follow-up surveys track changes in outcomes such as satisfaction with housing, connection to community, access to essential services, and overall health and well-being. This longitudinal approach allows us to identify improvements, address gaps, and measure whether residents feel more stable, connected, and supported over time.
Data collection is paired with participatory analysis, ensuring resident voices remain central. Survey results are reviewed collaboratively by the Resident Services team, data and evaluation staff, and will be shared with each community’s Resident Advisory Board, creating space for shared reflection and continuous program improvement. This aligns with The Kelsey’s CARE model by ensuring evaluation is not extractive, but rather a tool for growth and accountability.
In addition to surveys, service utilization tracking and case note analysis provide further insights into the effectiveness of resident services. For example, ICs document referrals, case planning, interventions, and ongoing supports in our case management system, which can be aggregated to identify trends, evaluate efficiency, and inform policy advocacy. Together, these strategies ensure that evaluation is rigorous, accessible, and actionable, demonstrating resident impact and systems-level learning.
Additional Evaluation Methods
- CARE Notes and CARE Staffings: Structured documentation of resident interactions creates an ongoing dataset to track support needs and outcomes.
- Feedback from Inclusion Hours: Residents provide input on the accessibility and inclusivity of events.
- Housing Retention Metrics: Tracking interventions that prevent lease violations and eviction.
- Resident Stories and Reflections: Facilitated conversations on residents’ housing journey and goals.
Conclusion
The Resident Services program and Inclusion Concierge role represent a scalable, open-source model for inclusive housing. By embedding resident services into housing operations and prioritizing both human-centered practice and data-driven evaluation, The Kelsey demonstrates how housing can move beyond compliance to create inclusive communities where residents have a safe and stable home, access to the supports they need for health and well-being, and meaningful opportunities for connection and belonging.