People with developmental disabilities, like everyone else, need to have stable, affordable and permanent housing. Unlike everyone else, they need help to make it happen. There are over 10,000 adults with developmental disabilities who live in the three-county area served by Housing Choices Coalition. Most of these individuals are living at home with aging parents or in group-home residences. They long for a place of their own and more independent lives.

While people with disabilities face problems of stigma and discrimination, the biggest obstacle to living independently in the community is lack of financial resources.

Most people with developmental disabilities have very low incomes, often limited to their social security benefits. With the increasingly high cost of housing in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties, it has become virtually impossible to find safe, decent housing they can afford. In most cases, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment requires most or all of the person's monthly income. In some cases, all of the monthly income would not cover the entire rent.

What does this mean for people with developmental disabilities? Without help, they will never be able to have their own homes or to participate fully in community life. As they continue to live in settings that are socially isolating, the dream of independence fades. Then, when faced with the inevitable loss of parents and loved ones, life becomes even harder because they have not been able to create homes and lives of their own.