New Report Finds Housing Unaffordable for People with Disabilities
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 6/26/2003
For the more than 3.7 million adults with disabilities living on federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, the goal of living independently has become impossible.According to a new report by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, people with disabilities continue to be the poorest people in the nation. SSI, meant to provide a livable income for people who are so disabled they have never been able to work, has not kept up with the rising cost of housing. The report notes that rental housing costs have increased roughly six times faster than increases to the monthly Social Security check.
"Priced Out in 2002," the biennial comparison of rental housing costs and SSI income, documents the full scope of the housing crisis fueled by the combination of extreme poverty and record setting rent levels and its affects on people with disabilities. Housing advocates have found that the national average rent on a one-bedroom apartment is now 105 percent of the monthly SSI check -- a check that is also supposed to cover food, utilities, clothing and other basic expenses.
The findings in "Priced Out in 2002" document extreme housing affordability problems for people living on SSI. The federal government, as well as many state and housing officials, have turned their backs on the poorest people with disabilities who need assistance in order to have any chance to live in decent housing of their own. Advocates claim this trend has continued into 2003, as federal housing programs have been cut in order to implement tax cuts for the most affluent Americans.
"Priced Out in 2002" provides hard figures that will allow advocates to help change government housing policies and promote a significant expansion of affordable, accessible and integrated housing for people with disabilities.
