Community Vision Leads Advocacy for Better Housing

More Accessible, Affordable Housing

People who need accessible housing struggle to find it.

Less than 1% of rental units in Oregon are accessible, but about 1 in 4 people have disabilities. Not all of these people require accessible housing, but many do. Unfortunately there aren’t enough homes to meet this need.

Community Vision wants to change this. We want Oregon to:

• Increase the number of accessible units that are produced
• Track where these units are
• Ensure people with disabilities can afford to live in them through funding rental assistance programs

To make this happen, we are teaming up with advocates around the state to expand affordable, accessible housing.

In September, our campaign for accessible, affordable housing shifted into high gear.

Housing Advocacy at the Inclusive Leadership Summit

Over 150 disability advocates from all around Oregon came together in Salem for the Inclusive Leadership Summit. Oregon Self-Advocacy Coalition organized the meeting, and Community Vision led a session on the housing campaign.

We asked advocates to talk about what they needed to access housing. They wrote their answers on individual paper bricks that create a “house” for the campaign.

Advocates had clear messages about their needs, such as “fully accessible bathrooms,” “lower rent,” and “more housing, shorter waitlists.”

Next steps for the campaign include a training for advocates who want to talk to legislators and other leaders. We’ll also use the house the advocates created at future campaign events.

One thing is clear from the Inclusive Leadership Summit: advocates are ready to fight for housing change!

Leading Conversations at the Housing Oregon Conference

One way we can make an impact is by engaging with policy makers and housing developers directly. The annual Housing Oregon conference is a great place to do that.

Community Vision team members presented in several session during the two-day conference that took place in Portland.

We spoke about:

• How disability services can support people in independent housing
• Designing for accessibility and the use of technology
• Challenges and solutions to the housing crisis for people with disabilities

These sessions led to deeper conversations about these critical issues.

Community Vision receives Innovation Award for Inclusive Housing

Community Vision was deeply honored to receive the Kuni Foundation’s “Innovation Award for Inclusive Housing” at the Housing Oregon conference.

The award recognized our partnerships with housing developers to create more affordable and accessible housing. The award also highlighted our ADU project as a replicable model for inclusive housing.

We offer a huge thank you to the Kuni Foundation and Housing Oregon for this award!