As the NOFA recognizes, your local public housing authority has a "duty to affirmatively further fair housing... [and is] required to identify the specific steps they will take," including identifying impediments to fair housing and addressing those impediments, and promoting "fair housing choice."

These section 8 vouchers are competitive and require the housing authorities to file an application BEFORE JANUARY 29, 2001 in response to the NOFA.

HUD's "Fair Share Application Process" assigns 15 points to any housing authority that agrees that "15 percent or more of the vouchers they are requesting" will be used for persons with disabilities and families with a member has a disability. (This 15% is in addition to any other vouchers people with disabilities may receive solely because they have been on a waiting list for years.)

In addition, another 5 points will be assigned if the public housing authority provides no less than 3% of the requested section 8 vouchers to persons who are covered by a Home and Community-Based Service Waiver (1915(c) Medicaid waiver). That means a housing authority can use their application to assist persons to leave nursing facilities and other institutions and to avoid being at risk of being unnecessarily institutionalized. HUD stated that "these individuals are assisted in preserving their independence and ties to family and friends."

Housing authorities must state "the collaborative efforts already undertaken with the responsible State agency to identify eligible families, as well as agreements reached ... for future referrals of such families. This is an opportunity to tie the Olmstead "most integrated setting" decision with housing!

Housing authorities need the disability issue and we need housing! (If they will not work with you, perhaps a complaint with HUD explaining how the public housing authority is not "affirmatively furthering fair housing" might encourage the housing authority). Most housing authorities will have no idea how to package the disability issue. You should be asking IMMEDIATELY for meetings to "assist" your local housing authorities. Please remember that Section 504 provides that the value of section 8 vouchers for persons with disabilities can exceed the "Fair Market Rents" in order to assure accessible units.

This NOFA presents a fantastic opportunity to assist us in implementing the Olmstead decision and to pit a focus on inaccessible housing for low-income persons with disabilities. It is a major opportunity to educate the press and community about the double discrimination faced by low-income persons with disabilities.

The disability emphasis of the NOFA is the result, in part, of ADAPT's efforts with President Clinton, HUD and Secretary Cumo, as well as the efforts of many other disability advocacy groups. This effort is in addition to he Access Housing 2000 initiative that targets 2000 vouchers over 5 years for persons exclusively transitioning out of nursing homes.

Again these efforts can assist us in implementing the Olmstead decision.
It is an opportunity but we must make it happen!

FREE OUR PEOPLE!

-Steve Gold