Less than 12% of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who receive long-term supports and services rent or own their own home. Across California and the country, increasing numbers of individuals with disabilities live at home with aging parents and guardians with no transition plan in place. If individuals with disabilities want to live outside of the family home, generally their only option is to live in institutional settings. Despite repeated demands for community-based housing options from advocates with disabilities and their families and federal policy that mandates such housing options, there is a clear lack of funding, strategies, and operating models to address the housing needs of adults with I/DD.

To think through the factors driving the disability housing challenge and what new solutions could look like, The Kelsey embarked on a nine-month organizing and predevelopment process. We convened 300+ cross-sector stakeholders from around the Bay Area for our Together We Can Do More Initiative. Stakeholders participated in a three-part workshop series that defined the problems driving disability housing shortages, identified interventions, and designed what new solutions could and should look like. Alongside meetings and workshops, we interviewed key leaders across the disability, housing, finance, philanthropy, policy, and community development sectors and researched existing housing models in the Bay Area and beyond.

We begin by placing the current housing need in the context of key disability policies. Next, we present diverse and detailed case studies that demonstrate unique financial, structural, and political approaches that can be studied and leveraged to promote the development of disability-inclusive housing around the country. There are many organizations doing impacful and important work—in disability and beyond— that we can learn from to apply to our field. New strategies are needed to scale interventions and promote more sustainable, cross-sector solutions.

The report includes actionable interventions generated by the diverse stakeholders who participated in our Together We Can Do More Initiative. In Planning for Next Steps, we discuss the ten interventions our teams developed to create more inclusive communities. We also share new frameworks—different ways of approaching disability housing and suppor>ve services—that can inform future interventions and support the most inclusive, sustainable, and impactful community outcomes.

The goal of this report is to educate readers on the factors driving the shortage of affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing and explore solutions to address this crisis. We focus on identifying mechanisms that promote disability-inclusive housing and sharing innovative, scalable, and sustainable ideas that can be applied in all types of communities.

The Kelsey cannot and does not want to be the only organization doing this important work— the challenge is simply too large for one organization or one sector to tackle it alone. We hope this report will serve as a resource to those interested in developing or advocating for the development of inclusive communities around the country.

While indeed the challenge around ensuring individuals with disabilities have access to supportive and affordable housing communities is great, we believe the opportunity is greater. We have an opportunity to create a more equitable future where all people can contribute. We can serve more people if we more effectively leverage new resources and pool shared expertise. Communities can be more resilient, exciting, vibrant, and welcoming when we deploy strategies to include all people of all abilities, incomes, and backgrounds.

Micaela Connery

The Kelsey

Our Bay Area Together We Can Do More Initiative was generously funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Read the full article here!