HOUSING OAK PARK

 

 

 

 

 

Supportive Housing for Populations with Special Needs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issue Five: The lack of “permanent supportive housing” available for low-income populations with special needs.

 

Description:  Housing availability for persons with special needs often gets overlooked in planning for affordable housing developments in a community.   Permanent supportive housing is affordable rental housing with support services for low-income or homeless people and persons with disabilities, such as severe mental illness, substance abuse, or HIV/AIDS.  Some support services are offered in the home, and some are offered in other locations in the community.  Permanent supportive housing offers two main benefits: safe, low-cost long-term housing in the community, and support services to help residents live healthy, independent lives.

Oak Park is fortunate to have numerous not-for-profit organizations with the expertise in serving special needs populations. However, the availability of permanent supportive housing is limited.

Recommended Actions:  The Village of Oak Park should be proactive and promote the need for both project-based and scattered-site permanent supportive housing developments throughout the Village.  This would include actively soliciting developers to develop permanent supportive housing projects in the Village, prioritizing the use of Community Development Block Grant dollars for these types of development, and facilitating public-private partnerships to ensure that the most vulnerable citizens are receiving the necessary housing with supports.

 

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