Housing is out of reach for many with disabilities, with a new report finding that rent for a small apartment often exceeds the total government benefits offered to such individuals.  Housing is typically considered affordable when it makes up no more than 30 percent of a person’s income, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For 2012, average monthly SSI payments to individuals totaled $726. At the same time, rent for a one-bedroom apartment averaged $758 per month (104%).  The average rent for Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN in 2012 was $570.00 (79%).

Due to the challenging housing situation, as many as two million people with disabilities are living with their parents, at homeless shelters, in crowded boarding houses or in segregated facilities like institutions and nursing homes.  “Nowhere in the United States can people with disabilities receiving SSI afford a safe, decent place to live,” said Kevin Martone, executive director of the Technical Assistance Collaborative. “Yet taxpayer resources are spent exponentially on the costs associated with institutionalization and homelessness when more cost effective, proven solutions exist.”

Resource: disabilityscoop. May 14, 2013