[photo: Homes like the Anixter Center in Rogers Park will be able to apply for help subsidizing the housing for the disabled. Jonathan Greig/MEDILL]
Very few groups face the same problems the disabled and mentally challenged face when it comes to finding housing, but relief may be on the way.
Gov. Pat Quinn announced on Tuesday that Illinois has received an almost $12 million grant from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development to help cover the cost of low income housing for the disabled and mentally challenged.
On their website, HUD says that through the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program, HUD will “provide funding to develop and subsidize rental housing with the availability of supportive services for very low-income adults with disabilities.”
The grant will allow the state to subsidize more than 800 apartments for the next five years, with an option to extend the agreement for up to 20 years. Gov. Quinn said in a press release Tuesday that the housing was reserved for tenants who are, “extremely low income, which is defined as making up to 30 percent of the median income for the area – or $15,480 in the Chicago area.”
Mary R. Kenney, executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, said, “Illinois can continue to eliminate barriers to safe and decent housing opportunities for our most vulnerable residents and help them access the resources and skills that will improve their quality of life.”
With two big facilities for the disabled closing in the last two years, lawmakers are pivoting from the old-fashioned, institutional models of assisted living to more community-based resources for those in need.
“We’re committed to making sure all our citizens – regardless of the challenges they face - have the opportunity to reach their full potential,” Gov. Quinn said. “These resources will not only help us provide a home for people who need one, but also the skills, training, counseling and services they need to become productive members of their communities.”
Many of the disabled are forced to live solely off of Social Security Disability Insurance, which is nowhere near enough to cover even the lowest rents in the city, leaving many with no options but shelters or the street.
HUD deputy secretary Maurice Jones praised the Illinois application, saying and said their program is looking “to solve real problems and offer real and lasting solutions for persons who might otherwise be institutionalized or living on our streets.”
The IHDA will be accepting applications from housing providers buildings until the fall of 2013 through a multilayered application process. They will then use existing disability networks to set up housing for those in need.
After an extremely competitive application process, Illinois’s grant was the third largest awarded in the nation.
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Article BY JONATHAN GREIG ; Medill Reports ; FEB 13, 2013
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=215814
©2001 - 2013 Medill Reports - Chicago, Northwestern University. A publication of the Medill School.
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