When you hear the word disability in the context of housing, what comes to mind?
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- ramps
- wide doorways
- roll in showers
- a place of your own
- an extra bedroom
- sound proofing
- assistance with money management
Could it really be all of these things? The report titled Homelessness And Disability In The UK responds with an emphatic “yes.” The report is based on interviews with care givers, housing workers, and people with disabilities who have experience of homelessness.
You realize in reading Homelessness And Disability In The UK that disability is a really broad term. Also that the things that make a home accessible for one person may not be helpful at all for another.
People with disabilities are far more likely to be homeless than Britons as a whole, suggesting that the support systems could do with some improvements. Homelessness And Disability In The UK identifies barriers that people with disabilities who are homeless, as well as their support workers, have to deal with on the way to permanent housing that is safe and affordable. The report also recommends changes in support and health systems to mitigate the barriers.
Another article approaches the issue of disability and housing from another direction. The author, Adam Ramsay, takes a look at the care system, which encompasses all forms of care, including homelessness services. He contends that the care system in the UK is in crisis and that community planning is a contributing factor.
Ramsay says that planning is putting priority on cars and security. That focus prevents people from meeting each other and developing informal supports among neighbours, friends and family. The lack of informal supports is shifting a whole lot more burden on to the shoulders of professional care/support workers. His observations are backed up with personal experience of depression and factors that contribute to his recovery.
Ramsay is not writing explicitly about people with disabilities who are homeless, but his article adds context to the barriers identified in Homelessness And Disability In The UK.
Many countries fall short in their efforts to provide housing that accommodates people with disabilities. For this reason, readers outside the United Kingdom may also find these resources valuable.
Homelessness And Disability In The UK is posted by the Centre For Homelessness Impact
You can read more of Ramsay’s insights at Open Democracy: How the design of our cities is making the care crisis worse
