Study Reveals National Average Rents Higher than SSI Payments Received by PWD

via the Arc of Illinois (6.20.11):

New Study Reveals that National Average Rents are Higher than Supplemental Security Income Payments Received by People with Disabilities

Vulnerable People with Disabilities Completely Priced Out of Nation's Housing Market

Washington, D.C. -- The national average rent for a modestly priced one-bedroom apartment is more than the entire amount of Supplemental Security Income received by people with disabilities, according to a new study released today by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force and the Technical Assistance Collaborative.

The study, titled Priced Out in 2010, reveals that as a national average, people with disabilities living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) needed to pay 112 percent of their income to rent a modest one-bedroom unit priced at the fair market rent. Rents for smaller studio/efficiency apartments, were 99 percent of SSI.. 

SSI is a federal program that provides income to people with significant and long term disabilities who are unable to work and have no other source of income and virtually no assets. According to Priced Out, in 2010, a single person SSI household received an average monthly SSI payment of $703 to cover all their basic needs, including housing.

This study makes it crystal clear why vulnerable people with disabilities become homeless or are unable to move out of high-cost institutional settings, said Ann OHara of the Technical Assistance Collaborative, who co-authored the study. As this study shows, a monthly income of only $703 is less than the rent for most apartments, particularly in higher cost housing markets...

 

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Have you struggled to make rent on SSI? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Comments

[eric oyen]

I am forced to live in a room mate situation here in phoenix simply because I cannot even afford rent by myself. if I factor in utilities, there is no possible way for me to afford even living here. avg. utilities in the phoenix area (gas, water, electric) run as much as $4oo a month. between that and the rent being about$650 a month avg. in phoenix, its at least $300 more than I get just to live here.

the room mate situation I live in isn't the safest for me either. I live with 3 other guys, and their 9 dogs. these guys are slobs and the house is an unsafe hazard zone. I am looking for a new place to land, but the only I can afford living here means a room mate or 2. this is why I wish I had employment (and being blind isn't helping me here either).

so what is a person to do? I can't afford to move, I can't afford to stay andI haven't landed in a residential facility(thank God for small favors).

[Martha Moyer]

My son with severe autism, age 37, lives in his own apartment with foster/companion care. He has Home and Community Based Services funding and Section 8 housing voucher. Now this works because I am over 65 and he gets more SSDI income. I can see the problem with those who only receive $700 a month but HUD Section 8 housing adjusts accordingly. I haven't had experience with that.

[Di Steiner]

I received SSDI and cannot afford to live on my own. Section 8 is closed with a 3 year waiting list.

[Mary Jane Brelin]

I am on SSDI with an income less than $900 dollars. I live in Virginia Beach, Va. I do receive a Section voucher, but cannot find an accessible apartment to live in. My health has deteriorated to the point that I now depend on a powered wheelchair that cannot negotiate my current living condition. I am forced to live in an unsafe situation. No one wants to accept Section 8 because of the negative reputation. Then you have the issue of cost, developers are making places smaller and do not meet the needs of a person with a disability. We are living in a "stack and pack" mentality. Due to limited income and high rent, we are forced to live in unsafe neighborhoods. Rent would not be an issue if a person with a disabiility could access a job. For every five persons with a disability, only one is employed, which leaves all parties, meaning the landlords and the tenants, at a deficit. What plans are there to address this?

[Voter with Disabilities]

Everyone needs to be able to own thier own home, and/or farm. People with disabilites often want or need to farm also. Also, everyone needs a larger liveable income, or a guaranteed income for all, whether disabled or not. Also, disabled people need to be allowed the same rights as retired people, or to be considered retired. People on assistance need to not have to report to Soc Security at all! Rules are confusing,limits are confusing. It is was/is too easy to have or cause overpayments. Asthma meds need to be covered by insurance also!

[Bob @ security guard training]

Social Security was designed so that people would be dead before they had to get any money. The problem is that we live to long now.