Resources: A Home of My Own

The National Home of Your Own Alliance* was developed to promote opportunities for people with disabilities to own and control their homes. This does not include three, four, or five people purchasing a home together; an individual living in a home owned by another person or family who is considered the "home provider"; and two people who are not in a long term committed relationship that purchase a home together.

Housing Cooperatives. Another way that people have developed homes of their own, along with the support of neighbors, is through housing cooperatives.

Co-ops offer a community-focused housing model centered on its residents, involving them throughout the design phase, the construction period, and after occupancy in the management process. Families that need affordable housing can find attractive and reasonably-priced options… People with disabilities often find an informal, unpaid support network and accessible housing

For instance, Co-op Initiatives, Inc. (Hartford CT) worked with people with disabilities to create homes of their own as alternatives to institutional and other settings. Their housing models offered a wide range of options to people with disabilities, including homeownership, affordable rental housing and limited equity cooperatives.

*This project represents past work of the UNH Institute on Disability and is no longer active.

Two organizations/communities in Canada are examples of developing support organizations and housing co-operatives that work together. NABORS is a support organization that is an association of thirteen people with disabilities, their families and friends. It was instrumental in developing two housing co-operatives in Toronto, Canada. The organization combines a dedication to individual control, a home of your own, and building community.

According to the CoHousing Network(http://www.cohousing.org/) "CoHousing communities balance the traditional advantages of home ownership with the benefits of shared common facilities and ongoing connections with your neighbors. These cooperative neighborhoods are one of the most promising solutions to many of today's most challenging social and environmental concerns."

According to VOICEPRINT¹ "Because CoHousing offers so many supports, it is a natural choice for self-advocates who are ready and financially able to own a home. Self-advocates can have the help and support of their community, and also the independence of having their own place to live. By making decisions on how the housing development operates, self-advocates in CoHousing become full and valued citizens…"

¹VOICEPRINT, St. Paul, MN, 1994

Housing Trusts. Another way of promoting home ownership is through community and individual trust funds dedicated to developing housing or managing housing. trusts.

According to the Housing Trust Fund Project: (http://housingtrustfundproject.org/) such funds "are established to provide the financial resources needed to address the housing needs of low and very low income households. Some extend this mission to moderate income; others focus on the needs of the homeless or other special groups. They clearly intend to serve unmet existing housing needs of their poorest residents." These funds can be used for housing for people with disabilities.

Housing, Neighborhood and Community Development. EmPOWERment, Inc. is people empowering people to control their own destinies through affordable housing, community organizing and grassroots economic development. This kind of approach can certainly include people with disabilities of all sorts and their families. EmPOWERment, Inc. was launched in 1996 to help working families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro NC reclaim their economic and political power. It now provides services to Orange, Chatham, and Alamance Counties. The strategy is to reclaim our communities by expanding homeownership opportunities, combating gentrification and organizing to build stronger neighborhoods.
Preservation Housing is an initiative to increase affordable housing and preserve working-class neighborhoods for families. EmPOWERment competes with investors to purchase and renovate existing homes and build new homes for sale to low-income families.
The Community Homebuyers Club is an intensive and fun program designed to assist families preparing for the challenges and opportunities of homeownership. The five-week class helps families repair credit, develop budgets and get qualified for a home loan.
Neighbors United, a coalition of neighborhood associations, is building leadership and power for community change. The focus is to combat drug dealing, preserve our communities and strengthen neighborhood associations. Youth Creating Change, a new youth leadership initiative, is building a new generation of leaders through GED training, leadership activities, and business skills.
Midway Business Center is an initiative to promote entrepreneurship by providing affordable office and retail space, business development services, and access to shared equipment and facilities. The Midway Business Center is Chapel Hill-Carrboro's first small business incubator.

Non-profit Real Estate Brokerage. Linked to EmPOWERment is Community Realty, the nation's first non-profit owned real estate brokerage. Community Realty donates its profits to the local affordable housing non-profit, EmPOWERment, Inc., which owns us. In its first year, Community Reality gave away more than $25,000. The goal for the second year is to double that number.

The realtors get paid the same as any other realtor. As one of the Community Realty realtors puts it, "I get the benefit of knowing that I am not just helping people find homes. I am able to help people help their community. That may sound corny, but it really does make the difference at the end of the day."

Federal Resources. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has developed a web page on housing for persons with disabilities. It provides web links to HUD and other programs, such as Section 811 Supportive Housing (rental), Accessible housing designs, modification funds, and local homebuying programs. (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/disability_main)

HUD Housing Choice Vouchers. The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. (https://www.hud.gov/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8). The program is administered through local public housing authorities (PHAs).

Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments. The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. The program includes a homeownership voucher for those who want to purchase their first home and need assistance with the mortgage and/or other homeownership expenses. Not every local PHAs participates in the program, but every state has experience with it, and at last report, over 4,000 homes were purchased through the program.https://www.hud.gov/topics/buying_a_home

formerly 'the corporation for enterprise development'

An Individual Development Account, also known as an "IDA", is a savings account for low-income workers that can be used for small-business development, higher education or the purchase of a first home. Each time you make a deposit, the IDA program contributes an additional deposit called a match. IDA programs can have a match one, two or three times the size of each deposit you make. For example, if you receive a 2:1 match, each time you deposit $25, you will get an additional $50 toward your savings goal. https://prosperitynow.org/issues/individual-development-accounts

The concept of visitability has been growing for the past decade or so. In fact, many states and cities have already trumped the federal government by enacting their own versions of this concept. The first city to do so was Atlanta, in 1992, largely as a result of the efforts of the grassroots group Concrete Change. Others were quick to follow, including Arizona, Vermont, Texas, Kansas, Oregon and the cities of Chicago, Champaign, Urbana and Bolingbrook, Ill. All of these mandates require visitability features in single-family housing paid for with public money.

Proponents of visitability agree that inclusion of these basic architectural access features in all new homes constitutes a civil and human right. It is a right that improves livability for homeowners as well as their guests. (From SFGate.com , by Allan Appel, Scripps Howard News Service, March 9, 2005)