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European Housing Alliance and issues faced by people with intellectual disabilities

Freddy Jussien writes:

Inclusion Europe participates in the new European Housing Alliance to bring concerns and solutions from people with intellectual disabilities and their families into policies.

The European Commission set up this Alliance. It brings together many different groups: public authorities, EU institutions, NGOs, builders and developers etc. The goal is to work together to tackle the housing crisis in Europe.

Having a place to live shouldn’t be a luxury

For most of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe, having their own home is a luxury.

Most people with intellectual disabilities live with their families or in institutions. Very few have a home of their own:

  • In 17 countries, most adults with intellectual disabilities live with their families.
  • In 27 countries, few or no adults with intellectual disabilities live in their own place.
  • In 28 countries, people often have to move into an institution when their parents can no longer support them.

Often, these people are not even counted as people who need housing. They never appear in housing plans.

Solutions exist

People with intellectual disabilities can live well in the community. Here are some examples of housing support:

  • Supported housing: flats with support built around each person’s needs.
  • Public-private partnerships: NGOs and landlords working together
  • Inclusive homes: people with and without disabilities living together, with housing and support kept separate.

These examples work. And they can be copied in other countries.

What the Housing Alliance should do

We asked the Housing Alliance to focus on three things:

  1. Count people with intellectual disabilities among those who need housing, especially those segregated in institutions, and collect data for each type of disability.
  2. Housing must work together with disability and deinstitutionalisation policies, so new homes become a real way out of institutions.
  3. Use EU funds and state aid rules to build affordable homes.

Housing is not just four walls and a roof. It is about living in your own place, making your own choices, and belonging. Let us build a Europe where this is true for everyone.