Integrated Community Housing Options – Challenges and Opportunities
View our informational flyer here
Wednesday, November 30
9:00-5:00 p.m. ET
TASH Members $85
Non-Members $100
*lunch will be provided
Workshop Overview
Creating, establishing and funding community-based housing options is one of the most challenging issues facing individuals with disabilities, family members and providers who work in the residential and housing arena. The State of Georgia is a hot bed of activity on this issue, and there’s no better time than the present to join this pre-conference workshop and participate in a robust discussion on housing policy.
Participants will receive a copy of the housing policy paper, Shut Out, Priced Out and Segregated: The Need for Fair Housing for People with Disabilities. Theyʼll also hear about major changes occurring in Georgia and be part of developing an action agenda for the development of accessible, affordable community-based housing in Atlanta and other communities across the U.S.
The workshop will also feature a tour of visitable neighborhoods. Atlanta is the national center of the Visitability movement for ‘every new house with access.’ Participants in the housing pre-conference will tour two neighborhoods where the efforts of local advocates have resulted in zero-step entrances and wide interior doors being incorporated in all houses.
Why is this pre-conference workshop is so important during the 2011 TASH Conference in Atlanta?
1) Georgia has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that requires “own home or family home” as the
first residential preference for individuals with significant disabilities transitioning out of state facilities. Georgia is challenged with this priority as the financial and support mechanisms are not wellestablished to make this possible.
2) In January 2011 a coalition of cross-disability advocates, builders, lenders, and other professionals began meeting and working on a public policy report on housing issues. The production of this paper was a stipulation of the settlement between the National Fair Housing Alliance and other partners v AG Spanos, a large construction company that was found in violation of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Spanos supported Metro Fair Housing Services, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, to have the lead role in completing the paper. The resulting report, Shut Out, Priced Out and Segregated: The Need for Fair Housing for People with Disabilities, provides a model for how states can address the need for accessible, affordable, and integrated housing for people with disabilities.
3) A coalition of advocates in Georgia, including Concrete Change, has been working on New Home Access Legislation. The legislation
proposes to require three basic access features on all new homes: one zero-step entrance, 32” clear door openings on the first floor, and blocking installed in first floor bathrooms to facilitate the addition of grab bars, if needed. During this pre-conference, we will discuss the details of this legislation and gather further input on strategy.
To register for this pre-conference workshop, visit here and follow the steps to register for the TASH Conference, selecting the pre-conference workshop you’d like to attend from the list of sessions.