Priced Out: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities

1 Priced OUT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE COLLABORATIVE, INC. CONSORTIUM FOR CITIZENS WITH Disabilities Housing TASK FORCE FUNDED BY THE MELVILLE CHARITABLE TRUSTTHE Housing Crisis FOR People WITH DISABILITIESPRICED OUTTHE Housing Crisis FOR People WITH DISABILITIESBy Gina Schaak, Lisa Sloane, Francine Arienti, and Andrew ZovistoskiDecember 2017 Priced OUT: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities | 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) thanks the Melville Charitable Trust for the generous support that makes the publication of Priced Out possible, and for its continued commitment to improving the lives of People with Disabilities and People who are also acknowledges the valuable contributions to Priced Out made by Andrew Sperling at the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Sutcliffe at The Arc of the United States; and Diane Yentel, Andrew Aurand, and Dan Emmanuel at the National Low income Housing Coalition.

2 This Priced Out report, issued in 2017, is the latest in a series of Housing publications created jointly by TAC and the Washington, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force. TAC is a national nonprofit organization that works to achieve positive outcomes on behalf of People with Disabilities and People who are experiencing homelessness by providing state-of-the-art information, capacity-building, and technical expertise to organizations and policymakers in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, human services, and affordable Housing . For further information, contact:Technical Assistance Collaborative, Saint James Avenue, Suite 950 Boston, Massachusetts 02116(617) Martone, Executive Director, Technical Assistance CollaborativeSara Burke and Rachel Banderob, Editing and Technical SupportAdriana DePalma, DesignCopyright 2017 Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc.

3 All rights to reprint portions of this report or the data therein is granted, provided appropriate credit is given to the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Photos:Shaul Schwarz Verbatim/Getty Images for Be VocalRalph Hockens/FlickrPRICED OUT: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities | 5 TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTERPageForeword7A Worsening Crisis8 Key National Findings9 The Impact of the Affordability Gap10 Federal Policy Recommendations to Address the Crisis14 How to Use the Information in Priced Out20 Where the Numbers Come From23 DATA TABLEST able 1: State and Local Housing Market Area Data24 Table 2: supplemental security income , Area Median income , and Rental Costs State by State44 Table 3: Local Housing Market Areas with One-Bedroom Rents Above 100% of Monthly SSI Benefits46 Table 4: State SSI Supplements for People with Disabilities Living Independently52 Priced OUT: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities | 7 The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force are pleased to release the 2017 edition of Priced Out, our national rental Housing report documenting the severity of the Housing affordability Crisis experienced by the lowest- income People with Disabilities .

4 Using the most current data available, Priced Out highlights the enormous challenge of meeting rental Housing costs with the monthly income of a person living solely on supplemental security income (SSI) payments. Some of the key findings of this important national report include: In 2016, the average annual income of a single person receiving SSI payments was $9,156 about 22% below the 2016 federal poverty level, and equal to only 20% of the national median income for a one-person household. The national average rent for a studio/efficiency unit in 2016 was $752, equal to 99% of monthly SSI payments. In thirteen states and the District of Columbia, areas with the highest Housing costs in the nation, the average rent for even a studio/efficiency unit exceeded 100% of the income of an SSI recipient. In 220 Housing market areas, one-bedroom rents exceeded 100% of monthly SSI payments an increase of almost 60 markets since our last report, Priced Out in 2014.

5 What does this mean for People with Disabilities ? Too often, the answer is homelessness, institutionalization, incarceration, substandard Housing , or severe rent burdens. Research has demonstrated that costs incurred by People with Disabilities cycling through public institutions are far greater than the cost of providing rental assistance with unified advocacy effort by the disability community is needed to support and potentially expand permanent supportive Housing programs and policies and other rental assistance strategies that ensure affordability for People with SSI-level incomes. Together, TAC and the CCD Housing Task Force urge all national, state, and local disability organizations to work with their affordable Housing counterparts to achieve this goal. We hope this latest Priced Out report will aid your efforts.

6 Kevin MartoneExecutive DirectorTA CAndrew Sperling Co-ChairCCD Housing Task SutcliffeCo-ChairCCD Housing Task ForceFOREWORDPRICED OUT: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities | 8 This tenth edition of Priced Out: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities once again demonstrates that non-elderly adults with Disabilities who rely on supplemental security income (SSI) are among the groups most severely affected by the extreme shortage of affordable rental Housing across our the last decade, increased rental demand combined with development primarily at the high end of the market has led to record-low vacancy rates, higher rents, and increased competition for affordable and subsidized Housing . This overall market trend is reflected in the ever-worsening affordability gap for extremely low- income renters with Disabilities .

7 supplemental security income is the federal income maintenance program that assists People with significant and long-term Disabilities who have virtually no assets and in most instances no other source of income . The national average rent for a studio/efficiency unit in 2016 was $752, equal to 99% of a monthly SSI payment. Priced Out confirms that non-elderly adults with Disabilities living on SSI confront a Housing affordability gap across all 50 states and the District of Housing affordability Crisis deprives hundreds of thousands of People with Disabilities of a basic human need: a place of their own to call home. Because of the disparity between SSI income and rental Housing costs, non-elderly adults with significant Disabilities in our nation are often forced into homelessness or segregated, restrictive, and costly institutional settings such as psychiatric hospitals, adult care homes, nursing homes, or jails.

8 People with Disabilities who rely on SSI and manage to rent a lower-cost, non-subsidized unit are likely to be living in substandard Housing or using virtually all of their income just to pay the rent each month. People in these circumstances are at great risk of homelessness and the exacerbation of chronic health conditions as they face the constant struggle of paying rent while meeting other basic needs such as food, medications, transportation, and Priced Out report depicts an unrelenting rental Housing Crisis for extremely low- income People with Disabilities in every single one of the nation s Housing market areas. The report also highlights the negative outcomes including homelessness, institutionalization, and incarceration that occur when People with Disabilities lack affordable Housing and access to critical health treatment and services.

9 To reverse this worsening Crisis , full support for federal rental assistance programs is the first priority. Continued access to supports and services that help individuals meet their health care needs and sustain tenancy is also essential, so that secure Housing becomes the foundation for a full and productive life in the community. A WORSENING CRISISPRICED OUT: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities | 9 The key findings in Priced Out clearly illustrate the Housing affordability Crisis affecting the nation s non- elderly People with significant Disabilities : The average annual income of a single person receiving supplemental security income (SSI) payments in 2016 was $9,156 about 22% below the federal poverty level, and equal to only 20% of the national median income for a one-person Nationally, the average rent for a modest one-bedroom rental unit was $861, equal to 113% of the national average monthly income of a one-person SSI household.

10 This finding confirms that in 2016 it was virtually impossible for a single adult receiving SSI to obtain decent and safe Housing in their community without some type of rental assistance. The national average rent for a studio/efficiency unit in 2016 was $752, equal to 99% of monthly SSI. In thirteen states and the District of Columbia, areas with the highest Housing costs in the nation, the average studio/efficiency rent exceeded 100% of the income of an SSI recipient. In nineteen states and the District of Columbia, statewide average one-bedroom rents were higher than monthly SSI payments: District of Columbia (206%), Hawaii (188%), Maryland (167%), New Jersey (151%), New York (145%), Virginia (139%), California (138%), Massachusetts (133%), Delaware (125%), Washington (123%), Illinois (122%), Colorado (117%), New Hampshire (117%), Florida (116%), Connecticut (114%), Oregon (113%), Vermont (113%), Rhode Island (108%), Texas (103%) and Pennsylvania (103%).