With the issue of housing fresh on our minds following the recent ADAPT action (www.DUHcity.org), I was intrigued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report on the state of public housing. (See Preserving safe, high quality public housing should be a priority of federal housing policy, Sard and Fischer, September 18, 2008 http://www.cbpp.org/9-18-08hous.pdf). There is a longstanding stigma that public housing is strictly for the welfare dependent, is located in impoverished communities, and is perpetuating a system of dependence. One of the goals of the report is to dispel these misconceptions in an effort to shift the discussion of public housing toward more productive approaches. This got me thinking…how can we convince legislators to support an affordable housing platform when few understand the context and complexities of affordable housing?

Public housing needs a major public relations boost. Publicly supported housing options are necessary for people living on low incomes, which encompass many people with disabilities. In addition, as the report notes, public housing also has a disproportionate number of accessible units compared to those in the market, which is advantageous to the senior and disability communities.

According to the report, “Since 1997 the share of public housing families with children that rely on welfare as their primary source of income has declined from 35 percent to 19 percent, and a larger share of families are working.” In addition, the number of family housing units located in poor neighborhoods is down 40 percent since 1995. Granted, a major reason for this could be attributed to the revitalization of certain low income neighborhoods. However, the numbers still fly in the face of prevailing misconceptions and demonstrate that the state of public housing is changing.

Sixty-four percent of public housing units have an elderly person or person with disabilities. Public housing faces a threat of demolition (pun intended) due to the lack of federal funding. Most notable is the lack of funding, which once existed, for rehabbing dilapidated units. Capital improvements continue to weigh down the funding stream at the local level, with roof repairs, new heating/cooling units, and remodeling efforts to accommodate the shift from family-layouts to single senior-layouts, topping the list of maintenance requirements local authorities must address. The various housing agencies already feel the excessive burden of unmet maintenance demands and it is unrealistic to assume they will be able to accommodate the growing demand for additional units under the existing fiscal restraints.

The rise in low income persons coupled with the decline in available units has left the country in a monumental housing crisis. “Given the aging of the population, affordable housing that is suitable for seniors is particularly needed. The United States will need more than 700,000 additional rent-assisted units by 2020 just to bring unmet housing needs among seniors back down to their 1999 level, according to one estimate. Moreover, many elderly people are physically frail or have disabilities. Unless the number of housing units accessible to people with disabilities grows substantially, increased elderly demand will compete with the needs of non-elderly people with disabilities, including veterans of recent wars. If the nation fails to preserve existing public housing units, these shortages will grow larger.”

Are you getting it yet?

The crisis is not around the corner, it is now. We need to get the policymakers thinking about public housing, as well as alternative affordable housing measures, now!

The focus of the recent D.C. ADAPT action was to bring awareness to the housing crisis rampant in the disability community. What do we want? Accessible, affordable, integrated housing! This is no simple task considering that in addition to fiscal challenges, there is also the societal misconception of public housing that people in the disability community need to continually combat.

Ideally, the next presidential administration will support choices in housing, but it will take non-stop advocacy to make sure the next administration understands the needs of seniors and people with disabilities. Affordable housing should include public housing, home ownership subsidies, mixed income developments, and voucher programs. People should have the choice to live where they want. That choice must include affordable housing options because the alternative (a.k.a. an institution or nursing home) is no alternative at all.