Advocates highlight accessible housing shortage for Nebraskans with disabilities

Nebraska may be ranked as the 15th best state for housing affordability by U.S. News and World Report, but other metrics show the state isn’t immune to the nation’s housing affordability problem.

According to the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, the median price of a home has increased 21.25% over the past five years, while the median household income has only risen 5.53% in that same time period. Meanwhile, NIFA estimates that the state has a shortage of more than 120,000 housing units.

Sen. Victor Rountree introduced an interim study, LR86, on the topic, resulting in a hearing Friday morning in the Legislature’s Urban Affairs Committee.

“This constraint on available housing means that an able-bodied individual who can make most housing circumstances work still cannot find a place to live easily,” Rountree said. “The problem becomes that much harder when you try to find housing that is accessible.”

Kathy Hoell, who co-chairs the Olmstead Advisory Committee – which advises the state’s plan to integrate people with disabilities – said the availability of safe and accessible housing for people with disabilities is “almost nonexistent.”

“Approximately 15 years ago, the status of my disability changed, and I needed to find a more accessible home,” she said. “I live in the Omaha area, and I looked all over for an apartment to rent. I couldn't find it. I looked for housing, existing housing, stuff that was accessible, and I could not find anything that was able to meet my need.”

Hoell said she had the resources to build her own accessible home but recognized that many Nebraskans with disabilities do not.

“There are hundreds of people with physical disabilities out there that are homeless,” she said.

Dianne DeLair, the Legal Services Director for Disability Rights Nebraska, explained the state’s legal commitment to helping people with disabilities live independently.

In 1999, a landmark Supreme Court case, Olmstead v. L.C., determined that unjustified segregation of people with mental disabilities is unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court said a state could rely on an Olmstead Plan as a defense in a lawsuit.

As part of Nebraska’s Olmstead Plan, which was updated in July, the state is working toward establishing a statewide coordinated referral and tracking system for accessible housing as well as reducing the length of time it takes to complete home modification projects such as wheelchair ramps for individuals with disabilities.

The Olmstead case took in new relevance in Nebraska last May, when the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Gov. Jim Pillen informing him that the state is in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by “unnecessarily segregating people with serious mental illness in assisted-living facilities and day program facilities.”

DeLair said she hopes Nebraska makes policy changes and increases funding for services to allow for a settlement agreement if legal action is taken against the state, but she said such action isn’t imminent.

“This probably is not going to move forward with the current administration under the Department of Justice,” she said. “However, the federal laws in this country still remain, and they will be vigorously enforced, and whether or not that's done by the Department of Justice or other private actors, that will be remain to be seen.”

One of the policy solutions suggested at Friday’s hearing was a requirement that a certain percentage of housing projects built with state funds must be accessible.

Currently, 5% of units built with federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits must be accessible, but Nebraska’s housing funds, including the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Rural Workforce Housing Fund and Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund, don’t require anything.

“I think if the federal government is going to require some accessible housing being included, I think the state should also,” Hoell said. “I don't think that's totally unrealistic.”

Allie Christianson, a community organizer with Civic Nebraska, said the state should consider proactive interior rental inspections, inclusionary zoning and source-of-income protections to help cost-burdened renters.

“Inclusionary zoning ensures that new housing developments reserve a portion of housing units for low-income households, which is great because newer developments tend to be more accessible, having ADA-accessible units on the first floor, elevators and communal spaces for social connectedness,” she said.

Rountree said he plans to introduce housing-related legislation during the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 7.

“We realize that we can't eat the elephant all at one time, but we can take it one bite at a time, and so we can get good sound legislation that's going to help to move our process forward,” he said.