Readers Give Spitzer Advice
On January 1, the Democrat and Chronicle ran a special called “Readers Give Spitzer Advice”. A few days before, the paper asked New Yorkers what they thought should be then Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer’s priorities. I sent in the following letter, and to my utter amazement, nearly all of it was printed!
Governor’s Top Priorities Should Include Housing
Governor-elect Spitzer will have many tasks to attend to once he enters office on January 1. I would encourage him to address the needs of a group of New Yorkers who are often overlooked - people with disabilities. While our community faces many challenges, the starkest of these is the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing. People with disabilities are literally facing a housing crisis!
The lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing forces people with disabilities into segregated, often institutional settings. Those who are already in an institution find it almost impossible to get out when the deposit and rent for an apartment are more than their Social Security checks. Home ownership, for those who can afford it, is practically out of the question because the vast majority of homes are inaccessible to people with mobility impairments.
Despite this, there are solutions that the new Governor can enact. A Housing Trust Fund can be developed, which would create a revenue stream for developing housing, providing rental subsidies, and paying for home modifications. Medicaid waiver programs with a home modification component can be created, and federal funds leveraged for accessibility modifications for those who need them. He can see to it that the various housing authorities work together, and support efforts to apply for Section 8 vouchers as a “local preference” target for those who want to transition from an institutional setting to the community. Finally, the Governor can support visitability legislation that requires that all new single-family homes funded with state or federal funds be built with at least one no-step entrance, at least 32-inch wide doorways, and an accessible bathroom on the first floor. These few solutions alone could go a long way towards addressing the housing crisis.
As a person with a disability, I am lucky. I live in a loft in downtown Rochester, a five-minute bus ride from work. It already had an elevator, and wide doorways. Other than lowering a couple of shelves, no other modifications were made. My neighbors are ordinary folks - college students, thirty-something couples, and other average Janes and Joes. In fact, I am the only person with a disability who lives there, and I like it. Like most folks with disabilities, I don’t want to live in a building full of “wheelchair people”. In my present situation, my neighbors are getting to know me, and realizing that I am an ordinary person, much like them, with many of the same likes, dislikes, and interests. If more people with disabilities could live in their communities with affordable, accessible, integrated housing, people would begin to see us as real human beings and valued members of our communities. We would have more opportunities to work, shop, go to school, volunteer, start businesses, and a host of other positive things. Our being in the community would not only save the state money that would otherwise be spent on institutional care, but we would also generate tax revenues by working, traveling, and spending money. When viewed in those terms, it is easy to see why addressing the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing should be one of the Governor’s top priorities.
Anita Cameron
Systems Advocate
Regional Center for Independent Living
The next day, I received a call from Greg Livadas, a reporter with the D&C. He’d seen my little article, and asked if I would listen to the Governor’s State of the State address and give my reaction. The next day, Chris, Arlene, and I watched and listened over the Internet. Dean was not able to participate, as there was no closed captioning. Dean did address that eventually.
Anyway, I was disappointrd that there was no mention at all about people with disabilities, and I sent in a short article. Two sentences of it was printed the next day. Here it is in full:
One New York?
Governor Spitzer, in his State of the State address, emphasized the concept of “One New York”, and several times, made mention of communities that were often left behind. Unfortunately, one community of well over six million were not afforded even the smallest mention in his plans - the community of people with disabilities. Disappointing as this was, it is also frightening because forgotten communities are usually the first to have critical services cut when the state needs to balance its budget. It is my hope that Governor Spitzer will recognize and work with people with disabilities so that we, too, can enter the new era of opportunity and prosperity.