Opening Doors Newsletter

Opening Doors is a joint effort by the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force (CCD Housing Task Force). This free newsletter is designed to provide important information on affordable housing issues to people with disabilities, their families, advocates, and service providers across the United States.  To go to a list of every Opening Doors issue, click here.

NEW Opening Doors Issue 27: Priced Out in 2004.  A look at TAC's latest Priced Out Study.  (See below).

Housing Publications (by year)

NEW Priced Out in 2004 (August 2005) TAC's biennial study verifies that low-income people with disabilities are experiencing a national housing affordability crisis.  Published in collaboration with the CCD Housing Task Force with funding from the Melville Charitable Trust.  Read more.

Live-In Aides and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Fact Sheet
This fact sheet on live-in aides provides a detailed explanation of regulatory requirements set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as key definitions and ideas for PHAs to consider in setting local standards for review and approval of live-in aides.  Read the fact sheet in PDF.

Section 8 Made Simple: 2nd Edition (June 2003) This guidebook contains practical information to assist people with disabilities and the entire disability community to navigate through the Section 8 program more successfully.
Click here to view the entire guidebook in PDF.
Click here to access individual chapters.

Priced Out in 2002 (May 2003) The next installment in the Priced Out biennial series documents the severe housing crisis facing people with disabilities and describes how this crisis has worsened. Released by TAC and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force. Click here for the publication in PDF.

Regional Housing Forum: A Technical Assistance Guide for Housing Resources and Strategy (2003) includes detailed information on housing resources and strategies to assist people with disabilities covered by the Olmstead decision. This book was prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Systems Change Grantees Conference, held in March 2003. Available ONLINE ONLY in PDF or in MS Word format.  To be emailed a Word version, please contact us.

Olmstead and Supportive Housing: A Vision for the Future (December 2001) TAC developed a "white paper" for CHCS on best practices and future strategies to expand permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities covered by the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. Click here to view the report in PDF format.

Priced Out in 2000: The Crisis Continues (June 2001) This publication documents the scope of the national housing crisis and call for immediate changes in the way federal housing funds are allocated. Released by TAC and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force. Available in HTML or PDF copy.

Strategies to Help People with Disabilities Be Successful in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (April 2002) This publication is designed to be guidance for Public Housing Agencies administering housing choice vouchers targeted to people with disabilities through the Section 8, Mainstream, Certain Developments, or Designated Housing Programs. Available online only! Click here to download a PDF version.

How To Be A Player in the Continuum of Care: A Guide to the Mental Health Community (2000) This guidebook is designed to provide the disability community with the necessary tools to be active participants in the Continuum of Care process in their community or state. Available ONLY on the web in PDF format.

Going It Alone: The Struggle to Expand Housing Opportunities for People with Disabilities (2000) This publication by TAC and the CCD Housing Task Force focuses on the disconnect between people with disabilities and the affordable housing system. It is available in PDF and HTML.

Piecing It All Together: Playing the Housing Game (1999) This is an excellent resource book for communities and states getting ready to prepare their Consolidated Plan.  It is filled with up-to-date information that is helpful for every locality.  This is available in PDF format only.

Federal Housing Resource Guide (2001) This resource guide details most of HUD's most commonly accessed programs.  Available in both easy-to-print PDF and HTML.

Priced Out in 1998: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities (1999) TAC released an update to this publication, Priced Out in 2000: The Crisis Continues. Data in the newer report shows that the "crisis" discussed in the original publication was only the tip of the iceberg. Now armed with even more reliable, accurate data, the crisis is worsening. This report is available in both HTML and PDF.

Guide to Continuum of Care Planning and Implementation (1999) This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the Continuum of Care planning process. To view the document, click here.

Seizing the Moment (1999) The information and approaches detailed in this guidebook are designed to help the mental health and homeless communities participate in the Consolidated Plan process, a long-term housing plan that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to determine access to federal housing funding. To view the document, click here.

Housing Center Bulletin (1992) The Housing Center Bulletin is a periodical with policy analysis, research, and information on current issues in housing development and supportive services. It was published by the Housing Center - a four-year collaborative among the Center for Mental Health Services Research, the Institute for Policy Studies, the Technical Assistance Collaborative, and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Studies. The Housing Center was funded by the Community Support Program of the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services. Click here for a complete list of past Housing Center Bulletin titles.

Creating Housing and Supports for People Who Have Serious Mental Illness (1994) Written by TAC, under contract to the Center for Mental Health Services, this monograph provides a useful overview of issues related to planning and designing supported housing for people with mental illness, and includes five case studies of successful state and local efforts to expand supported housing opportunities.

Homeless and the Chronically Mentally Ill (1992) Background information on homelessness and chronic mental illness. Describes why chronic mental illness and homelessness go hand in hand. Provides solution of centralizing services for the chronically ill in urban areas.

Supported Housing: Insights from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program on Chronic Mental Illness This paper presents a macro-level analysis of the organizational, administrative, and political changes that have occurred within mental health systems participation in a national demonstration program to develop supported housing for persons with chronic mental illness.