Community Vision’s Housing Access Program connects people with disabilities and their families to affordable, accessible places to live.
Our team works one-on-one with people seeking housing. We learn about a person’s preferences and needs to create a personalized plan. We help people with disabilities find a way over housing barriers and into a home of their choice.
So far this year, we’ve found homes for 37 people and 141 people since the program began in 2020. Make a donation now to show your support for this work.
Barriers to Housing
People with disabilities face challenges when looking for housing. This increases their risk for housing instability and homelessness. Here’s an overview of some of the things that make finding a home hard.
One of the biggest barriers is that they don’t have enough income to pay rent. For example, many of the people in our Housing Access program receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). That means their maximum income is only $943 each month. This severely limits where they can live when average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Portland is $1,500.
Accessibility is another barrier people with disabilities face.
About 1 in 10 Oregonians have serious difficulty walking and climbing stairs. However, less than 1% of rental units in Oregon are accessible for people using mobility devices. In addition, these rentals may be difficult to find.
People with disabilities also encounter discrimination when trying to rent a home. Over the past 20 years, fair housing complaints around disability have increased by 20%.
An apartment’s location can be an additional barrier. Many of the people we work with don’t drive. They need to live near transit in order to get groceries, go to appointments and work, and visit family and friends.
For a more detailed account of barriers to housing, see our report “Access Denied: An Overview of the Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities.”
