Cooperative Housing Is Redefining 'Home' for People with Disabilities

In San Francisco, 23 percent of homeless people return to the street after transitional housing programs. A New York program gives the mentally ill and homeless individual apartments alongside average New Yorkers and has had an 84 percent retention rate.

Residents of Alaska's St. Paul Island live through a legacy of generational trauma that includes high rates of domestic violence, child abuse, and alcoholism. However, the Island's political leadership have accomplished financial control and are using the funds for a comprehensive system of services to help their community break the cycle.

In Pennsylvania, “500 men and about 10 women juvenile lifers who have been locked away for decades” will be released due to a recent Supreme Court decision that said it was unconstitutional for judges to strike automatic life-without-parole sentence for juveniles. Unfortunately, recidivism rates show that “ 60 percent of people are locked up again within three years of being released.” However, pairing a former prisoner with a mentor is an old school solution that has been proven to be successful. Studies show “participants who had mentors were twice as likely to find jobs and 39 percent less likely to reci

Disability activists have used nonviolent direct action for decades, including lying in the street to protest inaccessible public transit and crawling up the steps of the U.S. Capital to support the Americans with Disabilities Act. “We have never gone out a door that we do not have a solution for,” says ADAPT member Dawn Russell. “That’s ADAPT 101.”

A Colorado bike builder creates adapted cycles for athletes who otherwise rely on wheelchairs for mobility. The cycles allow adventurous people with disabilities to ride trails and access difficult terrain.

Manchester, New Hampshire is seeing early success with a new program that helps keep mothers battling addiction in contact with their children. Based on the premise that keeping parents connected with their child during their addiction recovery will result in more successful recoveries, the program provides the supports for overnight visits and consistent contact.

As colleges and universities across the United States have shifted to online classes and shut down their campuses, not every student simply has the ability to move home. To help support these students, many of whom are low-income or international, the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project began working with local communities to find housing for displaced students, as well as to provide other support like money or supplies.

In Oakland, California, the privately funded Ahimsa Collective offers housing, money for necessities, and restorative justice support services to formerly incarcerated people to ease the pressure of transitioning to life outside of incarceration.

Efforts throughout Texas to reduce homelessness are serving as inspiration for states like California, that have similar homelessness issues. From committing funding to homeless reduction programs to establishing more advanced shelters like The Navigation Center, the state recorded a 28% drop in homelessness last year and has helped several individuals transition into permanent housing.

Avivo Village provides shelter for those experiencing homelessness and assists them in securing their own permanent housing. Avivo Village is specifically for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and offers a safer option than staying in encampments. As of December, Avivo Village helped 119 secure housing and every time a person moves out, the Village moves in someone else from an encampment.