The Report on Housing: Crisis and Opportunity
A Traumatic Brain Injury and Disability Perspective
Executive Summary
A publication of the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS)
March 2002
Contents
There is a crisis in affordable housing in this country. At the height of the recent economic
boom in America, nearly 4.9 million Americans with low incomes spent over 50 percent of their
income for housing or lived in seriously substandard housing. Of that 4.9 million,
approximately 1.4 million (over 28 percent) were individuals with disabilities. These numbers only
tell part of the story, however. These statistics do not include significant numbers of people
with disabilities. Not counted are (1) 200,000 homeless individuals with disabilities, (2)
people with disabilities who are not eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) but are
otherwise eligible for low income housing assistance, (3) people with disabilities who remain
in institutional settings, some of whom can not afford or access housing and support services
in the community, and (4) children or even adults with disabilities who live at home with their
parents or another family member. Furthermore, the total number of people with disabilities
served by all programs financed by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) across the
country is fewer than 500,000. Based on latest assessment of needs, at least three times that
number still need housing assistance.
For the last 18 months, Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) has taken a critical look at the ways
housing programs are administered in Ohio. OLRS identified significant barriers facing
individuals with disabilities, including individuals with TBI. OLRS confirmed that the housing
crisis affects people with TBI as well as all people with disabilities.
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There are four overarching issues critical to understanding the housing crisis for people with
disabilities. These issues are Affordability, Availability, Accessibility and Advocacy.
Affordability
Housing is considered affordable if rent plus utilities costs not more than
30 percent of household income. Nowhere in Ohio can a person who earns minimum wage rent a
one-bedroom apartment for less than 30 percent of her income. People with disabilities who
depend on SSI receive $6,144 annually. An Ohioan who receives SSI must pay, on average,
86 percent of her monthly SSI check to rent a one-bedroom apartment. The situation is growing
worse, because rents are rising at twice the rate of SSI increases.
Most government housing assistance programs pay the difference between 30 percent of the
renter's income and the current Fair Market Rent. Because low income renters with disabilities
have lower incomes on average than low income renters without disabilities, low income
housing for people with disabilities costs more to subsidize. People with disabilities who
require accessible housing face additional barriers to affordable housing, because accessible
housing usually costs more to rent. There is little incentive for housing programs to spend
more to subsidize housing for people with disabilities.
Availability
For at least a dozen years, the number of rental units affordable to renters
with extremely-low incomes has declined. Only 40 percent of low income households find housing
that is both affordable to them and available for rent. Many property owners are .opting out.
Of government-subsidized housing programs, either because the buildings are in poor
condition and no longer meet government standards or because the owners prefer to rent
their properties at higher rates on the open market. Furthermore, many housing complexes
that were available to people with disabilities are now restricted to elderly individuals only.
Accessibility
The availability of accessible rental units is extremely limited. Although
federally-funded public and private housing complexes are required to make some units
accessible to people with disabilities, accessibility requirements are inconsistently enforced,
and accessible apartments in designated "elderly only." complexes are no longer available to
non-elderly people with disabilities. Subsidized housing complexes which do rent to people
with disabilities often give elderly individuals priority for accessible units.
Creative Housing, Inc., a non-profit organization in Columbus, Ohio serving individuals with
developmental disabilities, has produced a new video, "Accessibility Comes Home." The video
highlights accessibility and how to adapt homes to make them accessible. OLRS provided
financial support for the video from its grant from the Brain Injury Advisory Committee.
Advocacy
Advocacy for affordable and accessible housing for people with disabilities is
lacking. Advocacy is needed to inform the agencies which administer housing programs.
These agencies are often unaware of the unmet housing needs of people with disabilities and
often do not apply, even though eligible, for disability-targeted housing funds.
Advocacy is also needed to address housing discrimination against people with disabilities. A
recent report by the National Council on Disability states that people with disabilities
encounter housing discrimination in a variety of ways, including: (1) violations of accessibility
requirements, (2) refusals based on stereotypes about their ability to live independently, and
(3) denials of accommodations by historically exclusionary rules and policies.
Because federal rental assistance programs are required to serve all people with disabilities
and may not serve any one disability group exclusively, advocacy must be a collaborative
effort among all disability groups. Comprehensive, community-based rental assistance
initiatives have a greater chance of success when the initiatives involve multiple organizations
working together to represent the entire disability community. OLRS' companion publication,
Advocating for Housing, also produced through the Brain Injury Advisory Committee grant,
is available from OLRS or from the Brain Injury Association of Ohio.
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The system that provides housing assistance to individuals with low incomes, including people
with TBI and other disabilities, is extremely complex. There is no single agency that
coordinates housing programs. There are many housing assistance programs and many
agencies that administer the programs. Local and state housing officials are usually familiar
only with the programs they administer and do not know the rules and policies that govern
programs they do not administer. The federal government generally allows local and state
agencies flexibility to set their own priorities for housing funds, so that housing assistance and
administration of programs in Ohio differ from county to county.
Local and state agencies that administer federally-funded housing programs are required to
develop written plans that set priorities for how that money will be used. Agencies are
required to solicit public input, including input from people with disabilities, as part of the
planning process. OLRS reviewed plans of development departments and housing authorities
throughout Ohio. None of the plans reviewed demonstrated a comprehensive understanding
of the unmet housing needs of people with disabilities or evidence of involvement of broad-based disability coalitions in the planning process.
People with disabilities may find it necessary to go to several different agencies to find the
housing assistance they need. OLRS. Report identifies and describes four entities that may be
able to provide housing assistance: (1) Public Housing Authorities, (2) non-profit disability
organizations, (3) coalitions for the homeless and (4) private housing developers and owners.
A variety of housing programs can provide assistance to people with disabilities. The Report
summarizes selected programs in chart form. The OLRS companion publication, Information
on Housing, provides more information on the programs with their positive features and
limitations. "Information on Housing" was produced through the Brain Injury Advisory
Committee grant and is available from OLRS or from the Brain Injury Association of Ohio.
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Some people with disabilities need assistance to navigate the housing system. Others may
also require some level of support services in order to live in a house or an apartment. Most
housing programs do not provide any funding for support services. Some housing programs
can, and do, deny an individual housing assistance because support services are not in place.
Support services include personal assistance, technology or services designed to meet
cognitive or behavioral needs, like the challenges faced by many individuals with TBI.
The barriers to housing and services are especially challenging for people with TBI because
there are virtually no in-home support services or service coordination designed especially for
people with TBI and no agency responsible for developing and implementing such services.
TBI survivors or their families must have those supports ready at the time that they access
housing assistance and must assemble a patchwork of supports from programs that often are
not equipped to meet the unique needs of people with TBI. Because people with TBI in Ohio
do not have service coordination, support services or housing assistance programs , they too
often become homeless, institutionalized, or must live at home with families who are often
overwhelmed as they try to care for their loved one with inadequate support. Policymakers
and advocates must address the issues of support services if housing is to be a reality in the
lives of individuals with TBI.
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Collaborative efforts are essential to inform elements of the housing system about the housing
and support needs of people with TBI. Coalitions should include both groups concerned with
the needs of people with TBI and groups advocating for individuals with other disabilities as
well. Additional coalitions with housing advocates for individuals with low incomes should
also be formed. Coalitions offer strength in greater numbers, heightened credibility, broader
networking and partnerships, more media attention and facilitated access to policymakers.
The Summit County TBI Collaborative, an interagency collaborative group which meets to
address service gaps for individuals with TBI in Summit County, received funding from the
Brain Injury Advisory Committee to hire a case manager. The case manager quickly
recognized that housing was a critical issue for the individuals served, including a significant
number of homeless TBI survivors. While the case manager sought short-term solutions for
the individuals she served, the Collaborative also looked at long-term solutions.
Through the efforts of the Collaborative, agreement was reached with a local non-profit
housing board to apply for Mainstream vouchers and to administer the voucher program if
awarded. The Summit Collaborative model illustrates the need and value of both service
coordination to identify and assist in the resolution of problems and for collaborative efforts at
the local level to address systemic needs.
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The complexity of the housing system and the lack of understanding within that system of the
unmet needs of people with disabilities creates an overwhelming need for broad-based
disability coalitions to advocate for change. The report presents 29 recommendations within
local, state, federal and TBI-specific contexts. Following are the general themes of OLRS'
recommendations:
You can also read about the recommendations in the Recommendations Summary.
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The barriers to housing which face people with disabilities are substantial, but the barriers can
be overcome. Many groups with shared interests must work together to improve the ways that
housing assistance is provided and to increase the amount of funding used to serve people
with disabilities.
A home of one.s own, whether rented or owned, is the cornerstone of independence for
people with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. Stable housing is essential to
people with disabilities, just as it is to people without disabilities, in order to pursue and reach
important life goals in education, job training and employment, friendships and family, and
life in the community - goals shared by all of us.
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This Executive Summary and the Report on Housing
were made possible through a grant from the
Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission through the
Brain Injury Advisory Committee.
The Brain Injury Advisory Committee was created under Ohio
law to advise the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission and
brain injury program regarding the unmet needs of survivors of
brain injury. The mission of the Committee is to reduce the
incidence of traumatic brain injury; to influence public policy on
behalf of persons with traumatic brain injury; and to promote a
system of services and supports which facilitates healthy,
personally productive, and satisfying life-styles within their
communities for persons with traumatic brain injury.
This publication was produced by the Ohio Legal Rights Service, 50 West Broad Street, Suite 1400, Columbus, Ohio 43215-5923. Telephone 614-466-7264/800-282-9181 TTY 614-728-2553/800-858-3542 Web site: http://olrs.ohio.gov
Ohio Legal Rights Service and this publication are funded in part by grants under the following federal laws:
- Developmental Disabilities Assistance (DD) Act, administered by the Administration for Children and Families;
- Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act (PAIMI), administered by the Center for Mental Health Services of the U.S. Department of Human Services; and the
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, administered by the Office of Education Services and the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education.
Ohio Legal Rights Service does not discriminate in provision of service or employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, military service, disability, or age.
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