Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council The need for more Service Supported Housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) is the centerpiece of a new study that will be released by the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council at a State House press conference on Wednesday, March 15 at noon in the Cedar Creek Room.
Resources exist to build, rehabilitate, subsidize, and enhance housing for financially eligible Vermonters, including those with I/DD, but disability service providers and housing developers have not traditionally worked together in Vermont, according to the report.
During the 2022 legislative session, parent of adults with I/DD came forward to advocate that more housing options be created for their sons and daughters. The result was Act 186, which commissioned the Council to prepare the report and set aside $500,000 for pilot planning grants for new housing models. The grants will be awarded later this spring.
Vermont serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) through its community-based designated and specialized services agencies. Designed to help Vermonters with the most significant support needs, these agencies served 3280 adults with I/DD in 2022.
About 42% of these individuals live with shared living providers, people who open their home to someone with I/DD who becomes a member of their household in exchange for a stipend. A few live in agency-operated group homes. Still others live with aging parents or other family members.
A much smaller number (about 18%) live in their own home with or without a paid support provider who comes at certain times during the week. The Council’s report recommends growing this sector by partnering with housing developers to set aside up to 25% of the units in traditional affordable housing projects for people with I/DD. Medicaid-funded services will help ensure those housed in these settings are not only safe but supported to thrive in the surrounding community.
“Vermont has relied too heavily on one model – shared living, which can be a great option for some – and on the goodwill of aging parents to house people with I/DD,” said the Council’s Executive Director Kirsten Murphy.
“Medicaid-funded programs are supposed to offer beneficiaries a choice in where and what type of setting they want to live,” she continued. “Service-supported affordable housing programs can help round out the menu.”
Lavender Fields in Bloomfield, CT is one of the housing developments profiled in the Council’s report. Part of a brand-new program in Connecticut called the IDASH (Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder Housing Program), this 38-unit two-story building was paid for with specialized financing from the State Departments of Housing and Developmental Services, along with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
At Lavender Fields, nine of the units are set aside for people with I/DD. Cutting edge “smart home” technology, including enhanced communications and video, lighting control and climate control help residents with IDD to live a more independent life in their community. An on-site staff provide building management and support with social services for all the tenants, who must be income qualified.
Speakers at the press conference will include a representative from the parent-led Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative, the Vermont Center for Independent Living, and Green Mountain Self-Advocates, as well as the Developmental Disabilities Council.
For more information: Kirsten Murphy, [email protected] / 802-822-1312. To see a copy of the report: https://ddc.vermont.gov/news/housing-report
March 13, 2023 – Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council. Montpelier