The following alert is from the New York Association on Independent Living - https://ilny.us
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Take action to ensure Access to Home can serve people statewide!
Inaccessible housing remains a big barrier for people wanting to live in the community. New York's Master Plan on Aging is in the early stages, but we do not see a commitment to fund home accessibility in the Executive Budget. Unfortunately, New York State's existing home modification program, Access to Home, has been severely underfunded at a mere $1 million for several years. This has left many parts of the state unserved and has resulted in years-long waiting lists. We know that home modifications help people stay in their homes to prevent unwanted and unnecessary institutionalization.
What You Can Do:
Click the link below to visit our action center to send a message, call, and tweet a message to your elected representatives in the state. Ask them to include $10 million in state funding for Access to Home and share your story of why home modifications are so important.
Take Action Today in Support of Access to Home!
Background:
Access to Home is an important program administered by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) that provides funding for home modifications to allow people with disabilities and older New Yorkers to stay in their homes and out of costly institutions. For many people, the addition of a ramp to their front door makes the difference between being able to leave the house and being homebound. The Independent Living community advocated vigorously for the State to create Access to Home to help alleviate the housing crisis for people with disabilities in New York by assisting low and middle-income individuals and families to make home modifications. Yet, Access to Home was cut by 75% many years ago under the Cuomo administration. Ever since, Access to Home has been funded at a mere $1 million statewide, leaving many parts of the state without the program and resulting in years long waiting lists.
Access to Home requires significantly more funding to come close to meeting the need of people in this state to modify their homes to make them accessible.
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If you are interested in disability advocacy issues like this one, contact Colleen Downs, Systems Advocate at:
518-563-9058 Ext. 110
The Mission of the North Country Center for Independence is to help people with disabilities to live more independent and productive lives, and promote better policies and community understanding of disability issues. NCCI serves people with disabilities, families, and the community on issues related to physical and mental disabilities. NCCI is led and staffed mostly by people with disabilities. It is one of the 41 Independent Living Centers in New York State. There are also hundreds of similar centers throughout the United States. NCCI serves Clinton and Essex Counties, New York.