Elevating Neuro-Inclusive Housing Options in Omaha
Omaha — In 2023, Omaha-based nonprofit, Autism Action Partnership, partnered with leading national experts and commissioned a housing market study to comprehensively assess the housing needs and preferences of adults living with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities (A/I/DD) in the Omaha area. A detailed summary of the project and its findings is now available to the public, with the goal of encouraging the creation of local neuro-inclusive housing developments.
The 2023 Omaha Housing Market Analysis: Data Driving a Place in the World for Autistic Adults and Others with Neurodiversities was conducted by the Make Waves Center for Community Development, as one of five centers of the Global Leadership Institute based at First Place® AZ. This organization is a charitable nonprofit in Phoenix with the vision of ensuring housing, healthcare and community options are as bountiful for people with autism and other neurodiversities as they are for everyone else. This first-ever comprehensive study, commissioned by Autism Action Partnership of Omaha, Nebraska, addresses the housing needs and preferences of adults with A/I/DD. The analysis educated consumers on potential options, collected data on their needs and preferences, identified barriers to meeting demand and explored how public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors can work together on market solutions.
For over 15 years, Autism Action Partnership (AAP) has served the Nebraska autism community through targeted programs that promote support, inclusion and prosperity. In addition, AAP has helped to amplify the voice of the autism community and advocate for needed improvements across the state. AAP leveraged its expertise and network of partners and families to ensure the wants and needs of the Omaha region were accurately represented in the study. This project was funded through a grant awarded to AAP from Front Porch Investments.
“We know that parents, loved ones, and autistic individuals worry about their future,” said Justin Dougherty, president/CEO of Autism Action Partnership. “Safe, affordable housing that is inclusive is critical to our constituents and to the greater good of our entire community. This project helps to establish what barriers and opportunities exist today, what a better future could look like, and how to bring it to fruition.”
Report findings recognize that current housing in Omaha cannot meet demand—financial, physical and cognitive—for adults with autism and/or other intellectual/developmental disabilities (A/I/DD). The Omaha Housing Market Analysis indicates that housing is financially out-of-reach for most adults with A/I/DD. In 2022, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimated that to live in Nebraska, a person would need to work 58 per hours at minimum wage to afford a one-bedroom apartment. To afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Omaha, a person would need to make $43,320 a year but would still be rent-burdened.
“Without housing options, this population lives with family members until a crisis forces rushed placements or even homelessness. These consequences are both traumatic for the individual and their family—and expensive for our state and communities,” says Denise D. Resnik, First Place AZ founder, president/CEO and mother of an adult son with autism. “Lack of housing options too often prevents the neurodiverse population from moving beyond their family home as integrated, contributing members of society with the support of those who know them best.”
Many people with A/I/DD will be forced into crisis placements in emergency rooms, nursing facilities, psychiatric hospitals and institutional settings—or could face incarceration and even homelessness—if housing opportunities are not expanded. Only 21% of those surveyed have created a special needs trust and 61% have yet to do financial planning.
More than 65% of family members were worried about self-advocates not being able to go places on their own. According to the survey, respondents rely primarily on friends and family for transportation. Less than 18% of respondents drive and only 23% use the public bus system.
Options in existing housing stock may be inaccessible for adults with physical or cognitive challenges. Adults with A/I/DD can also have issues with reading and writing, executive function, communication and/or social interactions. This makes navigating complex and often disconnected systems required to access housing more challenging, according to the report. Individuals may need sensory-responsive features such as natural, low-voltage versus fluorescent lighting; technology to support executive function; built-in structural features for age-in-place options; and/or wayfinding strategies and signage.
The report outlines systemic challenges:
● Significant data gaps exist because the precise number of adults with A/I/DD in Omaha is unknown. This includes those experiencing homelessness.
● Most Omaha residents with A/I/DD do not earn a housing wage and the majority are not receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS).
● Among survey respondents, almost 60% have no earned income and 77% are not receiving LTSS.
● Current subsidized housing models or permanent supportive housing offer neither the accommodations nor the safety net adults with A/I/DD need to obtain and maintain housing.
● More than 54,000 households are severely rent-burdened in Nebraska. However, only 9,725 units of federally subsidized affordable housing exist in all of Douglas County out of 86,335 occupied units. Of the survey respondents, only one utilized a housing choice voucher.
● About 10,820 adults with A/I/DD in the Omaha area live with caregivers over age 60.
● About 80% of respondents reported loneliness due to a lack of access to public or personal transportation.
“At the very least, housing for a minimum of the individuals with A/I/DD living with an aging caregiver in the Omaha area must be a goal within the next decade,” says Maureen Casey, director of the First Place Global Leadership Institute Centers for Applied Research and Public Policy. “Meeting the housing needs of people with A/I/DD will result in a healthier, more stable population that can significantly reduce Medicaid costs, increase quality of life, and prevent involuntary displacement and homelessness.”
The report also identifies an array of recommendations needing cross-sector support to close data gaps, increase homeownership, offer rental subsidies, increase the development of neuro-inclusive mixed-use and planned communities, provide long-term services and supports, and foster local community development.
Recommendations include:
● Segment the Homeless Management Information System or point-in-time data to identify adults with A/I/DD experiencing homelessness.
● Create an awareness campaign to help individuals with A/I/DD and their families better understand and apply for LTSS and other public benefits.
● Develop a homeownership guide, including important details from the Homestead Tax Exemption and Bridges to Homeownership programs to help individuals with A/I/DD and their families better understand how to invest in stable housing.
● Prioritize low-income individuals with A/I/DD or those receiving DDD services in housing choice voucher waitlist applications.
● Incentivize housing targeting adults with A/I/DD in the Qualified Allocation Plan to encourage developers to create integrated neuro-inclusive housing.
● Explore how to address the loneliness crisis and increase natural support systems.
“This report serves as a guide for data-driven solutions, as well as a housing roadmap on how to prevent the displacement or homelessness of adults with A/I/DD,” says Desiree Kameka Galloway, Global Leadership Institute advisor.
More than 145 people, 16% of whom are self-advocates, participated in the survey from July to August 2023. Respondents were required to participate in a learning session, including live, virtual training. Autism Action Partnership also hosted three “watch parties” to bring participants together for the recorded learning session. More than 70 community-based organizations were contacted to help promote and facilitate the study. An event in Spanish reached 22 Spanish-language respondents. After the surveys closed, data were analyzed and presented at a Local Leaders Workshop. Translated materials were available to Spanish-speaking participants. The study examined housing in the Omaha metropolitan area. Make Waves Center for Community Development and Front Porch Investments of Omaha sponsored the study. The report is available at https://autismaction.org/housing.
For more information or to get involved, email jdougherty@autismaction.org.