Housing

Housing Options

Supported Living

We’re moving out of the restrictive housing era and into a supported housing movement to help give people with disabilities the control over their own lives, to become socially and economically productive, to achieve self-direction, and to have the opportunity to live in permanent, independent, affordable, and accessible housing.

Prior to the mid-to-late 1980s, housing and services for people with disabilities were almost exclusively organized according to the “continuum” model, by which individuals with the most significant disabilities live in and receive services at the most restrictive point on the continuum (e.g., nursing homes) while individuals with the mildest disabilities are served at the least restrictive point. Under this model, individuals must move to a different residential setting to access services appropriate to their skills, capacities, and choices. If an individual’s needs or choices change, they are generally required to move to a residential facility which offers the appropriate “package” of support services.

In recent years, approaches to community-based housing and support services for people with disabilities have shifted from the continuum housing model to what is known as the supportive housing approach. Supportive housing is meant to address several key issues, including:

the extremely high rate of poverty among people with disabilities – particularly people with severe disabilities potentially affected by the Olmstead decision;
the desire by people with disabilities to live in conventional housing rather than in segregated and restrictive housing;
the need for long-term supports and services in order for people with disabilities to live as independently as possible; and
the desire on the part of people with disabilities for personal control, autonomy, and choice in their living situations.

The “support/empowerment” movement is premised upon the belief that mental health professionals have too much control over the lives of people with disabilities. In place of the “placement” approach to housing – in which professional assessments constitute the main basis for housing selection – principles of consumer choice and control over both housing and support services is emphasized. This approach leads to the separation of housing from services; an emphasis on conventional, integrated, scattered-site housing to reduce stigma; and rights of tenancy under landlord/tenant laws.

Each of these various iterations of the supportive housing model share certain common principles, including:

All groups served have a similar need for government funded housing assistance because of extreme poverty.
Control over one’s environment and housing choice is essential.
Housing must be permanent, as defined in landlord/tenant law. Residents in institutional or large congregate settings are usually not granted rights of tenancy under landlord/tenant law; however, even larger scale facilities can and should assure rights of tenancy.
Housing must be “unbundled” from supportive services and not made contingent on the receipt of services; however, supportive services must be available and accessible if needed and desired.
Supportive services must be flexible and individualized, rather than defined by a “program” – even larger scale facilities with on-site services can and should address individual resident choices with regard to housing and services.

Decent, safe, affordable and accessible housing as well as access within the community to supports and services that individuals want and need to live as independently as possible – and that are not “bundled” with a particular residential setting – form the basis of best practice models of housing choice and community integration for people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities desire control over decisions about where and how they will live in their communities.

Consumer-controlled housing treats people with disabilities the same way any person without a disability is treated: it provides them choice in their housing options and control over their housing environment. These are basic and normal rights exercised by adults every day – but adults with disabilities have been denied them for decades.

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