Memphis has no shelter for women with disabilities

By Allison Donald
Working as an Independent Living Specialist and advocate has come with its own set of challenges and none more frustrating than trying to find an accessible women’s shelter.  In Memphis there are about 1,800 people experiencing homelessness, some are women and some have disabilities.

A few months ago a call came into our office from a woman with a disability looking for emergency shelter.  She began to tell her story and she said she had nowhere to go. Her story is an all too familiar when I am talking to woman living with a disability in Memphis.

As we usually do, we put our heads together as a team and tried to come up with a viable solution that would keep this woman off the streets.  MCIL is not an emergency shelter and our federal grant prevents us from owing local housing. We have to depend on our partners and the community to include women with disabilities in homeless shelters.

But mostly we were met with denial after denial for emergency shelter. Not because the shelters were full, but more than one shelter explained that having a customer with a visual disability would be too much of an insurance liability.

It was extremely frustrating to realize that most of these organizations saw her as trouble and somehow not within their mission. They did not view her as a human being who needed shelter and their services just like any other homeless woman. 

Even though MCIL was able to find her shelter it still didn’t leave me or the team with a good feeling.

“Being homeless in the city of Memphis,” said Tamara Hendrix, lead organizer for H.O.P.E. (Homeless Organizers for Power and Equality), “is a no win situation for a single woman especially, that is one of the reasons H.O.P.E. was founded to get a free accessible shelter for people who find themselves in that situation”.

People with disabilities are disproportionately represented among all people experiencing homelessness. According to the point-in-time (PIT) counts conducted in January of 2017 by communities across the country, it is estimated that on any given day nearly one-quarter (24%) of individuals experiencing homelessness are people with disabilities (86,962 of 369,081 individuals).

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act, popularly known as the ADA, which outlaws disability-based discrimination in places of public accommodation, which includes, for example, emergency overnight shelters and social service facilities – homeless service providers cannot turn away persons with disabilities simply because of their disabilities or terminate residents because of a disability or disability-related behavior.  However, individuals with disabilities whose behavior would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals are not protected under the ADA.

Many of the homeless shelters are churches and many do not take public funds. In Memphis the emergency shelters and homeless service providers only have a slim relationship to a “place of public accommodation” that is covered by the federal law. While it seems clear that any shelter should treat people with disabilities equally, in Memphis, there is no clear federal, state or local mandate.

At any given point in time, 45 percent of homeless people report having had indicators of mental health problems during the past year. About 25 percent of the homeless population has serious mental illness, including chronic depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. While at any given time a homeless shelter may take-in a person with a disability, at the same time, emergency shelters feel that a psychiatric disability, physical disability or visual disability is also a reason why they may turn them away.

As a community in Memphis people living with disabilities are marginalized at every turn.  It is time Memphis made a direct appeal that emergency shelters must include all the members of our community, even people with disabilities.
 

MCIL Housing Roundtable

Collaboration and networking to solve housing problems

Notes

Sandi Klink, the Executive Director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living welcomed everyone to this first quarterly roundtable on housing. She said she hoped that we would all share opportunities for collaboration and work for real change for Memphis.
 
Sandi discussed the purpose for the roundtable development:

• Share an overview of current housing services and programs
• Share understanding of needs- individuals served and organizationally
• Share challenges
• Share opportunities for collaboration and change
  

Each individual was urged to a seat at the table and given an opportunity to tell a bit about why they were present, how they were involved in the housing community and changes needed:

• More Low income, accessible, integrated housing referral
• How do we get more listed for referral sites or removed
• Low income, accessible homes landlord registry
• Oversight of tenant based apt. complexes: pests, water, elevators, etc.
• Domestic violence survivors’ emergency housing
• Fair market and some low income housing requiring 3 times the rent in income
• More universal design requirements or extra points in applications for funding for inclusion of these elements
• Aging in Place - ramps, modifications, for those with needs under 60 years old
• Homeowner assistance for emergencies- hot water tanks, rotting floors, etc.
• Homeless and Emergency shelter for people with mobility disabilities or significant health concerns, physical and mental or behavioral needs
• What policy priorities might we work on for Memphis and Shelby County to support housing integration?

The roundtable discussion began with some statements about the general condition of affordable, accessible and integrated housing in our area. Sandi had pointed out that although the Habitat for Humanity program provides for home repair and home modification for people over 62, there are people with disabilities who also need modifications. Also considering housing that is not safe.

Many people with disabilities contact agencies and those that are moving from institutional settings have very little income. Most importantly, access to transportation was a critical part of housing and community need.

Mario Reed mentioned that even new construction was not accessible and he had several lawsuits currently about accessibility and the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the ADA.

The group dealt with the question of a list of accessible homes and apartments. The direct answer was there was no list, but agencies have used the THDA database and other sources. All were incomplete.

Paul Young suggested that this was an opportunity. He suggested something like the green homes initiative and energy efficiency as a selling point for the community.  MCIL could promote universal design as a selling point.

Sandi Klink brought up the problems with the focus on Congregate Living situations or CLS housing. Some care coordinators see this as the only option for institutional release and people with disabilities are again facing segregated housing. She told about the advantage of integrated housing and community involvement of persons with disabilities.

HCD asked about geography and what areas had the most problems with access. MCIL said the Center has that information but had not done any geographic analysis because they are charged with serving all people with disabilities.

MCIL committed to providing HCD with data that would assist with geographic analysis.

Sandi Klink noted that in the past Randy had done some analysis on where housing for people with disabilities was. Generally, there was a cluster of high-rises that provided general accessibility and affordably. Not only was there a cluster, but renters could also expect that the units were not clean or safe and that there is always a recurring problem with elevators. 

Paul Young again spoke about making geographically smart decisions and that we must think of housing and transportation together. Responding to the idea that both housing needs, neighborhoods and bus routes change, he argued that HCD must concentrate in areas of most need. He suggested, “sprinkling money around,” was generally ineffective and inefficient at solving housing issues.

Mr. Young challenged the crowd on how to get affordable housing in “areas of opportunity.” He suggested that providing incentives may help to guide development and that HCD would look at a full list of policy initiatives that would be helpful to people with disabilities.

The development of townhomes was of particular concern. The accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Amendment Act do not  apply to townhomes and multi-story units. It would make a good policy initiative if Memphis were not to fund those types of housing because they conflict with “aging in place,” concepts and they create segregated areas.

Income discrimination was also listed as a possible policy initiative. Because landlords are reported to require a potential tenant to have an income of two or three times the monthly rent. People with disabilities; however, may have a completely unique income. With housing vouchers, not having car payments and different health care enrollment, some people with disabilities have a very different overall percentage of housing affordability, but the typical income formula is still applied to all renters.

The group pointed out the expense of retrofitting homes and apartments. People with disabilities make up a higher proportion of renters because the Fair Housing Amendments Act impacts rental units and no law makes single-family homes accessible. The Urban Institute survey found generally that 17.4% of Memphis apartments asserted some accessibility. Comparatively, Boulder-Denver was above 85%. Bobbie Fields asked “What can we do, especially for the 25 to 50 years age group of people with disabilities who also want to buy a home?”

Sandi Klink asked the group to come up with ways that we can help each other.

Builders from L Strategies said they are ready to build, not cheap, if someone could be qualified for a loan. United Housing is also looking for people who wish to buy a home.

This was seen as another opportunity to design ways to help people to purchase a home.  HCD suggested that HOME grants may help to benefit new construction and rehab as long as they benefit people with low and moderate incomes. HCD wishes to align the Consolidated Plan they are developing now with the Memphis 3.0 plan. The City is looking to partner with people with disabilities. Also working with Green and healthy homes, potentially have a registry of landlords and incentives for low income renters.

Individual problems were mentioned such as people with cognitive disabilities taken advantage of and landlords demanding payment for “work orders” on individual units. The difficulty of deaf access and emergency repairs programs were considered. Problems with access at emergency housing shelters and no accessible women’s shelter was mentioned. 

To do:

• Felicia will ask that Green and Healthy Homes include MCIL and Safety Center
• MCIL will send addresses of Home Modification wait list
• MCIL will compile notes from first meeting
• Group will continue quarterly, Tentative Date is Thursday, May 23
  

Date and Time: February 20, 2019, from 2:PM to 3:30
Location: 5100 Poplar Ave. Eight-floor Conference Room
Reported by: Sandi Klink and Tim Wheat
Next Roundtable: Tentative Date is Thursday, May 23

Help for Local Seniors to Continue to Live in Their Own Homes

Spread the word!

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis’
next Aging in Place program call-in application period
Thursday, July 12, 2018 starting at 9 a.m.

To apply, applicants must call 901-322-3500 starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 12 and leave a message with their name, address and phone number to receive a call back. We will call applicants back to complete applications over the phone. At that time, applicants must have all documentation required to complete their application. Applicants will be accepted on a first-qualified, first-served basis.

So spread the word to your contacts in our community! The services provided through this program are in great need to help local seniors continue to live in their own homes safely and with the dignity and respect they deserve.

You can find more information about the program on our website, www.memphishabitat.com. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact Shannon Morgan, Senior Program Manager, at 901-322-3510 or smorgan@memphishabitat.com.

Thank you for working with us and helping spread the word about this program!

P.S. Following the July 12 application date, we do not know when the next application period will be. We will update the Aging in Place hotline (901-322-3500), Habitat website (www.memphishabitat.com) and social media (Facebook and Twitter) once we determine the next application date.

** The funding for this project was provided through a grant awarded by the Davidson County Chancery Court, Part III from the SeniorTrust/ElderTrust settlement (Case No. 11-1548-III) and through a contract administered by the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability. The Aging in Place program receives additional financial support from a variety of sources, including The City of Memphis, Division of Housing and Community Development; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati.

Facts about housing and people with disabilities

A New Report shows the difficulty of housing for people with disabilities

The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force have released a new report, Priced Out: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities, documenting the housing affordability crisis experienced by the lowest-income people with disabilities across the United States. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that provides income to people with significant and long-term disabilities who have extremely low incomes and savings.

• In 2016, the average annual income of a single individual receiving SSI payments was $9,156 — equal to only 20% of the national median income for a one-person household and about 22% below the 2016 federal poverty level.

• The national 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. This finding confirms that, in 2016, it was virtually impossible for a single adult receiving SSI to obtain decent and safe housing in the community without rental assistance.

• In Tennessee there are 125,127 SSI recipients who get a monthly payment of $733. That puts the average one-bedroom apartment rent at 87% of the individual's income. 

• The national average rent for a studio/efficiency unit in 2016 was $752, equal to 99% of monthly SSI. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, areas with the highest housing costs, the average studio/ efficiency rent exceeded 100% of SSI income.

• Often, statewide average one-bedroom rents were higher than monthly SSI payments, including: The 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%).

• In four states — New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont — and the District of Columbia, one-bedroom rents exceeded 100% of SSI in every single housing market area. More than 163,000 people with disabilities receiving SSI lived in these areas in 2016.

• In 220 housing market areas across 40 states, one-bedroom rents exceeded 100% of monthly SSI. Rents for modest rental units in 26 of these areas exceeded 150% of SSI.

• As a result of this housing affordability crisis, millions of non-elderly people with disabilities reside in homeless shelters, public institutions, nursing homes, unsafe and overcrowded board and care homes, at home with aging parents, or in segregated group quarters.

• Learn more at http://www.tacinc.org/knowledge-resources/priced-out-v2/.

Here in the Memphis area the most important thing we can ask for housing programs to include preferences for people with disabilities. Espicially a preference for helping people coming out of institutions will be a huge savings of our support funding. We can also save by helping people with disabilities to get housing and stay out of expensive institutions. MCIL will continue to demand this and to work for coverage by Medicaid and other sources for services that support successful tenancy. When people with disabilities and older Americans can get the services they need in their own homes, the funding recycles in the community rather than funneled out-of-state.

Pizza with Planners: Affordable Housing

Housing Trust Funds may help Memphis

By: Timothy Redd

On Tuesday November 14, 2017 I attended Pizza with Planners. The topic was affordable housing. There was a robust conversation about housing disparity and affordable housing in Memphis.

Justin Entzminger from Innovate Memphis walked us through the landscape the challenges Memphis faces. Some key things form the 2017 American Community Survey were:

• Memphis has lost the highest amount of affordable housing nationally.
• There are more renters than homeowners here, 53 % of people here rent which is an 11% increase.  
• Research shows a correlation between housing and poor out comes related to mental and physical health, family stability, neighborhood sustainability
• Low home ownership, low home values, and high vacancy add to high cost burden.

Michael Anderson, Center for Community Change Director told us about how housing trust funds could address and remedy the need for affordable housing. Housing trust funds are distinct funds established by city, county or state governments that receive ongoing dedicated sources of public funding to support the preservation and production of affordable housing. Housing trust funds can increase opportunities for families and individuals to access decent affordable homes. 

Today more than 770 housing trust funds have been established across 47 states contributing a 1.2 billion dollar revenue. Nashville has established one as well as Knoxville and it has helped people attain affordable housing. 

I think this is a great initiative we learned in many cities voters went to the ballot box and voted measured for affordable housing. I left the meeting thinking this could be a push in the right direction but I also was left wondering how we make housing trust funds happen here. To learn more about this initiative check out https://housingtrustfundproject.org/

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

By Timothy Redd
Monday, January 30th I attended an Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) training session hosted by The City of Memphis. The presenters at this event were Jeffrey May and Michael D Mitchell.   The workshop covered the history of laws of policies relevant to fair housing, what the AFFH is, and why it is important. The training also covered the AFFH rule, what the rule requires and compliance with the rule. There was also a session that covered how to access data to see key demographics of the city as well as nationwide.

What is the AFFH Rule and why is it important?

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. This obligation to affirmatively further fair housing has been in the Fair Housing Act since 1968 (for further information see Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 3608 and Executive Order 12892). 

AFFH means "taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that will overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all of a program participant's activities and programs relating to housing and urban development."

The Fair Housing Act of 1965 and FHA Amendments Act of 1988 covers seven classes at a federal level: race, color, religion, national origin, familial status, gender, and disability.  From what I learned this rule is about choice and empowering people to live where they want and no longer being limited because of income to certain areas.
 

Why does this matter to the Disability Community?

Segregation Affects the Disability Community

• People with all kinds of disabilities deserve access to the same range of housing choices as people without disabilities.
• Government resources have created segregated settings for people with disabilities and limited housing choice
• Housing and social policies have forced people with disabilities to live with family and not independently
• Costly and segregated institutional settings
• Discrimination in Housing against People with Disabilities is Rampant; 44% of housing discrimination cases filed with National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) members in 2011 involved discrimination against people with disabilities. (NFHA 2012 Fair Housing Trends report)
• Racial – about 20% of cases
• Familial status-13% of cases
• National origin and gender – about 5% of cases each

How will this rule change that?

Housing resources are very limited in this city and very scarce for people with disabilities who need low-income housing. Many subsidized housing projects have waiting lists and age requirements. For people who are not yet 62 years old, finding housing this is a huge challenge. This new rule being implemented requires the recipients to do an analysis on the community. The analysis should show things like where people with disabilities live and what type of disabilities people have. The analysis will allow access to poverty troubled areas and race demographics through data mapping tools. 

When new housing is developed analysis reports have to be submitted to HUD and meet the criteria for approval. This requirement will give more housing options countywide because the focus now is about inclusiveness and the eradication of poverty which will create vital living spaces.
To learn more about The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing and to see the data maps as well check out https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/
 

My Thoughts

The time for true integrated affordable accessible housing is long overdue. The seven federally protected classes have been segregated for far too long. I think if the rules of the program are enforced it will help so many people and make our city better. 

I also think that when different community engagement opportunities are happening, it is critical that we as the community of people with disabilities attend to have our say and have a seat at the table. At this training workshop, I was the only person with a noticeable disability. I would implore us all to make an effort to be more visible in our communities and make sure we are speaking up and speaking out.  Advocacy is powerful!

Success Happens Here!

Finding affordable, accessible, integrated housing is difficult in Memphis

By Tim Redd
It’s no secret that our community, people with disabilities face many challenges. In September I met a woman with a disability who was looking for housing. I provided her with several resources to get started in her housing search. I followed up with her on a weekly basis, offering more information as it was needed.

On October 12^th I received the news from the woman that she had found housing would be moving on the 24^th of this month. She thanked me for all my help. I am happy to help people and I celebrate her success. MCIL is a place of action and we encourage self-advocacy. I am happy to help empower my community, success happens here!