October 2023 Advocacy Update

From The Disability Policy Consortium

LEGISLATIVE ACCESS AGENDA

DPC’s mission is to bring the perspectives of people with disabilities to the table on key issues, empower our community through healthcare support and advocacy, participatory research, and expert policy analysis, and lead grassroots campaigns that make Massachusetts more accessible and inclusive. Our credo is "About Us, By Us" — the belief that when decisions are made about people with disabilities, people with disabilities should be the ones making them.

Click here to download the Legislative Access Agenda PDF booklet from the DPC.

AHVP funded at $26 Million!

Great news! The Conference Committee Budget Report has come out, and DPC hit all its goals! Most significantly, (including prior appropriations that were rolled over) the Alternative Housing Voucher (AHVP) program was funded at $26 million ! This is a huge increase from last year's $19.1 million, and more than *seven times* thins program's funding when we started fighting to grow it ten years ago.

The Committee also instituted a change that would allow AHVP to be used for both mobile and project-based vouchers – which was a far-off dream when DPC and BCIL started their work on AHVP, and will help support the development of new accessible & affordable housing for people with disabilities. The Accessible Affordable Housing Grants were funded at $2.5 million to construct more affordable, accessible homes, and we hit our goal for REquipment at $500,000 as well! Thanks to everyone who contacted their legislators thoughout this process! Please consider reaching back out to thank them.

We also want to give a huge shout out to our Senior Community Organizer, R Feynman, who has led the charge on the AHVP campaign for the past three years alongside our partners at the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) and the Citizens' Housing And Planning Association (CHAPA)! If you have questions about the AHVP program or our advocacy efforts to improve it, you can contact them at rfeynman@dpcma.org

The only step left is for the Governor to sign the budget. She is technically allowed to veto it or make changes, in which case it would go back to the legislature for approval, but given how drawn-out the budget process has been, that seems very unlikely. You can contact Governor Healey using the web form link below, and encourage her to sign the budget swiftly and without changes to AHVP, AAHG, or REquipment (line items 7004-9030 and -9031, and 4120-4000)

Spooner Leadership Summit Now Taking Applications

Summit Description

The Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC), Disability Policy Consortium (DPC), and Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) are hosting a Leadership Summit on the future of disability advocacy on September 29-30, 2023 in Marlborough, MA.

The summit will include the new generation of disability advocacy leaders, and emerging leaders in advocacy in social justice for services, programs, and the human and civil rights of people with disabilities in Massachusetts. Approximately 20 new and emerging leaders will be brought together with some existing leaders to discuss where disability advocacy needs to go in the coming decade and what we can learn from the past that got us to where we are today.

To learn more follow this link: http://www.paulspoonergenerationalleadership2023.org/

From United Spinal National

U.S. Access Board Webinar: Accessible Residential Housing

Independent living is one of the most critical elements of accessibility. Accessibility barriers within a person’s home, where they spend most of their time, are imperative to address. Residential dwelling unit accessibility guidelines and standards are addressed under many laws, including the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, to ensure these facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. These laws, guidelines, and standards can be difficult to understand and lead to confusion for many design professionals, lawyers, and citizens.  

The next webinar in the U.S. Access Board's free monthly series will take place Thursday, September 7 from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. (ET) and clarify these requirements and their application to different types of residential facilities, including both privately and publicly funded facilities. Presenters from the Board and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will review differences between Title II and III of the ADA and the ABA, as well as their overlap with HUD's 504 regulations of the Rehabilitation Act. Additionally, presenters will give an overview of the accessible design and construction requirements under the Fair Housing Act that apply broadly to most multifamily housing. 

For more information or to register, visit Great Lakes ADA Center’s Accessible Residential Housing webinar webpage. All webinars include video remote interpreting (VRI) and real-time captioning. Questions can be submitted in advance of the session or can be posed during the live webinar. Webinar attendees can earn continuing education credits. The webinar series is hosted by the ADA National Network in cooperation with the Board. Archived copies of previous Board webinars are available on the site.