ROOF's mission is to empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to successfully obtain and maintain affordable and inclusionary housing of their choice.

The ROOF Connector
Connecting you with housing news and resources
January 2016


Your gift can help empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities obtain and maintain inclusionary housing of their choice.


On behalf of the ROOF Team, we hope
you are having a great start to 2016.



Update on the  Florida's Housing Trust Funds - Webinar
   
The first step in being an effective advocate is getting informed. Join other ROOF members
in learning about Florida's Housing Trust Fund, which is used to create affordable housing in communities across Florida. The Florida Housing Coalition is hosting a free webinar for Sadowski Affiliates on Monday, February 1 at 11am. There is no cost. It is open to ALL HOUSING TRUST FUND ADVOCATES, including all SHIP Administrators and everyone
else who wants the Legislature to use all the housing trust fund money for Florida's affordable housing programs. 

This free 30 minute webinar will include: 
  • Update on the State and Local Housing Trust Funds 
  • The Appropriations Process
The Sadowski Affiliates webinars provides you with information that will help you know what is happening with the housing trust funds and how you can help. Join the
Sadowski Affiliates by emailing  [email protected] .
   
Presenters: Jaimie Ross, facilitator of Sadowski Housing Coalition and president of Florida Housing Coalition; and Mark Hendrickson, executive committee member, Florida Housing Coalition Board and executive director of Florida ALHFA.
   
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Johnitta Wells at  [email protected].

Click here to register.

Copyright © 2016 Florida Housing Coalition. All Rights Reserved
   
Celebrating Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

President Ronald Reagan declared March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in 1987, urging "all Americans to join me in according to our fellow citizens with such disabilities both encouragement and the opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential."
 
In celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, ROOF is participating in Developmentally Disabilities Awareness Day
on February 18, 2016 at our state capital in Tallahassee.

You can join ROOF in showing your support for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in many ways:   
  • Write a blog post about someone you know with an intellectual or developmental disability and their housing success story and share it with us to post on the ROOF website in March.
  • Join the ROOF Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Google Plus pages and invite your
    friends to join as well.
     
  • Submit pictures of someone you know with an intellectual or developmental disability and the fun you are having together in or around your home for us to post.
     
  • Contact your legislators and local policymakers to let them know you expect them to promote and enact affordable housing policies that benefit people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
 
Look for our next issue of the ROOF Connector for more ways to show your support for National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Please submit blogs and pictures to Cindi Cone at [email protected].

 

Home Matters For All People!

First the bad news, Florida is the toughest market in the country for people with disabilities looking to rent a home, followed by California and New York.  Housing is considered affordable if it is limited to no more than 30% of income.  However, the 2016 Florida Home Matters Report, shows that Floridians with disabilities who are living on fixed incomes, spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing. 

All people need a safe, affordable place to live and to make a home for their families.  Affordable housing for people with disabilities is about a third of the cost of institutional care. Therefore Florida's economy will improve by reducing tax payer expense if affordable housing is made available to all people.

The good news is that while the private market is unable to provide affordable housing for people with disabilities, the Sadowski State and Local Housing Trust Funds, a dedicated revenue source which funds affordable housing programs and SHIP, the local housing trust fund, are working together to ask the Florida Legislature to use housing trust fund money for housing with no diversion or using the monies for other purposes. The Florida Legislature has the opportunity this year to appropriate nearly $324 million in the state and local housing trust funds which will have a positive economic impact, create jobs, and provide affordable housing for people with disabilities.

It is ROOF's vision that every community in Florida will have an abundance of housing choices that meet the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Join ROOF in making a difference by reaching out to your legislators and local policymakers to say you support using all of the housing trust fund money for housing, because  "home matters" .


Residential Options of Florida | 239-774-ROOF (7663)  | Email | Website
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Naples FL 34105