| Contents | Foreword | Intro | Findings | Using PO in '06 | Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C | Appendix D |
|---|
Foreword
by Eunice
Kennedy Shriver
April
2007
Priced
Out in 2006, the
newest report published by the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force, documents
the continued lack of affordable, accessible housing for individuals with
significant long-term disabilities, including intellectual disabilities,
physical disabilities, mental illness, and chronic health conditions. This shortage is a crisis of epic
proportions for people with disabilities seeking lives of independence, dignity
and acceptance.
Priced
Out clearly illustrates the persistent
relationship between limited income and the lack of decent, safe, affordable
and accessible housing. Four million
adult individuals aged 18-64 living with significant and long-term disabilities
rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to cover living expenses, but the
value of that income has precipitously declined. Despite the efforts of so many individuals,
families, advocacy organizations, and legislators, the data are simply
shocking:
• In 2006, the national
average monthly income of a person who relied on SSI as his or her source of
income was only $632. When Priced Out was first published in 1998, the
value of SSI payments relative to national median income was 24.4 percent. Today the value of SSI has dropped to only
18.2 percent.
• Last year the national
average rent for one-bedroom apartments rose to $715 per month—this equals
113.1 percent of monthly SSI income.
• In 2006—for the first
time—the national average rent of $633 for studio/efficiency apartments rose
above the entire monthly income of an individual who solely relies on SSI
income. Even this modest dwelling would
consume 100.1 percent of someone’s income.
How can we
possibly expect any individual or family to spend 100-113 percent of their
entire monthly income on housing? It is
not only mathematically impossible, but morally unconscionable.
Creating
and maintaining the financial and social supports to provide affordable housing
for individuals with disabilities in the community is not only the right thing
to do, it makes fiscal sense. The
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (formerly
AAMR) has determined that it costs 50-75 percent less to provide
services in community-based housing rather than more institutional-type housing
funded by Medicaid.
Several
states have recognized the housing crisis for people with disabilities and have
answered the call by creating innovative, cost-effective solutions. North Carolina dedicates 10 percent of the
units in new federally financed Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments to
people with disabilities. Complimenting
that commitment, rental subsidies are financed with State dollars. This policy
thus far has created a total of 800 decent, safe, affordable and accessible
units across the state for people with disabilities.
As part
of Hurricane Katrina/Rita rebuilding policies, the State of Louisiana has
committed to developing 3,000 units of permanent supportive housing in the
eight Parishes most affected by these devastating storms. Funding provided by Congress will assure that
these units are affordable to people with disabilities with extremely low
incomes and also provide housing support services through community programs.
Finally,
as just one example, The Arc of Anne Arundel County in Maryland has partnered
with foundations to develop financial literacy programs for individuals with
developmental disabilities. This
program, designed to help its constituents establish credit, develop budgets,
and utilize financial planning services, offers individuals with disabilities
the tools they need to effectively join rental and home ownership markets.
We know
decent, safe, affordable, and accessible housing adds to the overall community.
We know it makes financial sense for individuals with disabilities to live in
community-based housing. We know federal housing programs are significantly
under-funded and waiting lists are flooded.
And we also know that this under-funded system is poised for further
strain. Approximately 700,000 people
with developmental disabilities live with one or more parents over the age of
65. These aging parents have lovingly
cared for their children, often in silent struggle, for decades. What will happen to these individuals living
at home, and how can we assure our most heroic citizens—parents—that their
children will be properly taken care of?
These
circumstances call for bold, creative, and bipartisan measures. Priced Out in 2006
recommends that Congress provide funding to create at least 150,000 new housing
units for people with disabilities over the next ten years. I say bravo!
It is long past time to acknowledge the tremendous restrictions and
barriers that exist for people with disabilities and remove them one by
one.
In order
to obtain and maintain decent, safe, affordable and accessible housing in the
community and bridge the housing affordability gap identified in Priced Out
in 2006:
• People with disabilities who have
SSI-level income must have access to rental subsidies such as those provided by
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Housing Choice
Voucher and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities
programs.
• The production of new, affordable rental
housing must become a national priority for individuals with significant
long-term disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, physical
disabilities, mental illness, and chronic health conditions.
• We must work with individuals,
communities, foundations, and legislators to demonstrate that safe, affordable
and accessible housing is not an issue of special interest, but indeed of
national interest.
Housing
is the key for individuals with disabilities.
It is the necessary foundation piece that leads to education,
employment, and active participation in communities. It is where families are nourished,
strengthened, and loved. The United States needs to step up and fulfill its
duty to provide all citizens with the tools they need to achieve
greatness. Only by doing so can we be a true example to other nations.
As an
advocate for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families for
over 50 years, I’ve seen the unique power each individual possesses to make a
difference. We’ve made great strides by
working together. But, despite these
efforts and successes, we have much left to accomplish. I urge you to join me and make housing for
all people, but especially our most vulnerable, not just a priority, but
your priority.
I
commend TAC and the CCD for yet again amassing such compelling and needed data
in the field of disability housing. They
continue to raise and maintain awareness on such a critical issue. I am grateful for their efforts.
Most
sincerely,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver