Meeting The Housing Needs Of People With Intellectual Disabilities PDF Download

Although there is a large body of research on the housing needs of individuals with physical disabilities, there is very little on the housing needs of people with intellectual disabilities. This project, undertaken by the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) and the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living (SACL), was designed to help address this gap. Researchers at SHIP and SACL wanted to identify the housing needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities and explore the possibility of meeting those needs in an "intentional community"setting. "Intentional community" is a general term covering many housing types, including ecovillages, co-housing, residential land trusts, communes, co-ops and other housing projects in which people "strive together with a common vision." As intentional communities are typically committed to social inclusion, the researchers were curious to see if intentional communities could offer a suitable environment for people with disabilities. The research had three objectives: 1. To understand how people with an intellectual disability use living spaces in the home and to identify appropriate design features. 2. To identify the features needed in the surrounding community or neighbourhood setting to ensure accessibility. 3. To identify the supports needed so that individuals with an intellectual disability could be meaningfully engaged in the decision-making process of an intentional community.