Pathways to Homeownership: A Demonstration Initiative
february 2020
My Home, My Community is excited to announce a new initiative looking to improve housing stability, affordability, and choice for people with developmental disabilities.
Many people with a developmental disability and their families have struggled to balance having their support needs met, with having housing that offers them independence, stability, and an opportunity to participate in their community. Often residential, segregated, and congregate living options have been presented to families as the only choice, particularly for individuals with significant support needs.
There are, however, examples of families across Canada who have successfully used homeownership to create permanent, stable housing, that allows their loved one with a developmental disability to live in a home of their own in the community. Awareness that these options exist, are possible, realistic and replicable is still very low.
With greater awareness of these options and understanding of how to achieve them, many more families of people with developmental disabilities may be prepared to pursue homeownership. My Home My Community’s 2018 research showed that 31.9% of families surveyed had assets they were willing to use to create a new housing solution for their family member with a disability. Through our new Demonstration initiative, Pathways to Homeownership, My Home, My Community will be showcasing innovative models of homeownership that offer solutions to the challenges people with developmental disabilities face in achieving housing stability, affordability, and choice.
We will profile eight families in three provinces who have successfully implemented a model of homeownership for their family member with a developmental disability. These profiles have been chosen because they:
showcase five diverse models of homeownership;
represent a range of housing markets and family incomes; and,
include people with developmental disabilities who have varying degrees of support needs.
Pathways to Homeownership will produce detailed case studies for each model and practical tools to provide individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, community organizations, financial institutions, legal professionals, and government agencies with the information they need to lead or support the recreation of these models.
Keep following this blog to learn more about this exciting project and the five diverse models being used by Canadian families to create safe, inclusive, and affordable housing for their loved ones with a developmental disability.