Making Living Independently A Reality for People with Disabilities

Many of us take for granted our ability to live in the community in the type of home we want. But many Americans with disabilities of all ages face additional challenges in accessing that fundamental right to determine where and how they want to live their lives.

Thanks to a new partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more people living with disabilities will have that choice.

HHS operates the Money Follows the Person demonstration program, which is designed to help states identify and remove barriers to quality living for those with disabilities. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, this important Medicaid program that has helped countless Americans move from an institution into a home of their own or another community residence, will continue through 2016.

But, too often, we have found that while States can provide the menu of services that a person needs to leave the hospital or nursing home, we cannot find affordable housing in their community.

Through our partnership with HUD, State Medicaid and human service agencies are partnering with local public housing authorities to provide housing vouchers to nearly 1,000 people with disabilities currently living in an institution setting but who could live independently.

As Secretary Sebelius said in announcing these new vouchers, “This partnership allows States to find people who can and should be living in the community, and bring together both the housing opportunities and the services necessary to make that a reality.”

This means that more Americans can move out of institutional settings and into their communities. Providing these choices to Americans is a civil rights issue, and this partnership builds on the promise and values of the Olmstead decision to help people live in the most integrated setting possible so that they may lead more happy and productive lives.

This is the mission of the Secretary’s Community Living Initiative. Along with improving access to services and housing, the Initiative also makes investments in the workforce necessary to support persons with disabilities who live in their communities.

For more information about this week’s announcement, you can read the press release. You can find out if a public housing authority near you is receiving funding through this program here.