Homelessness & Disability

More than 40 percent of the homeless population in the US are persons with disabilities, the July 16th Disability Scoop reports. The 150-page 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report was issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. From pp. 27-28:

Among adults, 17.7 percent of the U.S. population had a disability whereas an estimated 42.8 percent of sheltered homeless adults had a disability. A disability, particularly one relating to substance abuse or mental health issues, can make it difficult to work enough to afford housing. Indeed, the higher share of adults with disabilities in the poverty population (30.7 percent) relative to the U.S. population is an indication of this difficulty. People with disabilities are an even higher share of the homeless population than the poverty population, suggesting that disabled persons face additional difficulties in gaining access to permanent housing. People with disabilities may have difficulties searching for a unit or finding a landlord willing to rent to them. Their disability may make it less easy to accommodate them without adaptive supports [my emphasis].

Also, the ability of SSI and SSDI to avert homelessness among persons with disabilities is uncertain. In 2009, the average monthly SSI payment was $50416 (or about $6,048 annually) and the poverty rate for a single-person household was $10,830. Accordingly, the average annual SSI payment is about 44 percent below the poverty level, and thus people with disabilities who lack a sufficient work history to qualify for SSDI—common among people with severe mental illness or substance abuse issues—are more susceptible to deep poverty.

As the phrases I highlighted from the report suggest, not being able to work (or not being given the opportunity to work regardless of one's skills) can make affording housing difficult (impossible); further challenges remain as far as having access to housing, not to mention housing with accommodations and adaptive supports. Dora has written about the crucial importance of the Community Choice Act in providing long-term in-home supports for persons with disabilities, to provide a way out of institutions and nursing homes. And, too, the reasons for persons with disabilities not working or not looking for work are "because they are lazy" but, for instance, "being unable to both manage basic life activities and work at the same time; i.e. not an issue, just a fact for some."

The Homelessness blog at Change.org has an additional assessment of the 2008 report and notes that what especially needs to be looked at is performance. Certainly there are programs and initiatives set up but what is actually working, and what is not?