The Kelsey

Together We Can Do More | Organizing and Predevelopment for Inclusive Housing in the Bay Area

Over 55,000 individuals in the Bay Area with developmental disabilities worry daily about housing. It’s a national crisis that most are unaware of, receiving little public funding or community attention. 60-70% of adult children live with aging parents, often with no plan for future housing. Individuals are directly discriminated against in housing; 55% of all fair housing complaints are related to disability, more than any other minority group. Individuals are priced out of ​both ​affordable and ​market rate housing. The need only increases as more people have disabilities, including autism, and housing becomes more expensive.

The Kelsey, a San Francisco based social-impact startup, has received a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to build regional teams of diverse stakeholders to collaborate and to develop inclusive communities in the Bay Area.  The Kelsey’s mission is to address the disability housing crisis by creating thriving, inclusive communities where individuals of all abilities and backgrounds live, play, and serve together and partnering with organizations and entities who seek to do the same.

The grant will allow The Kelsey to engage in a nine-month organizing and pre-development process in the Bay Area for disability inclusive housing.  Recognizing that the disability housing crisis will not be solved by one organization or one sector alone, the project will convene teams of cross-sector stakeholders to harness existing resources in the Bay Area and direct them towards a shared solution.  Throughout the process, the focus will be on effective strategies for public-private partnerships, key areas requiring additional advocacy, and sustainable strategies for inclusive community development. The Kelsey will also work with existing organizations in disability housing — like the Lanterman Housing Alliance organizations, affordable housers, and parent and advocate driven efforts —  to showcase existing best-practices as well as identify where key challenges exist and how they can be overcome.

At the completion of the project The Kelsey aims to identify ways diverse partners can collaboratively build new solutions in inclusive mixed ability, mixed income housing and what specific policy needs, funding mechanisms, and community development strategies are needed to support these efforts.

For individuals with disabilities, an affordable community-based home with access to supports is too often impossible to find. The Kelsey seeks to change that reality and is grateful for the support of the Chan Zuckerberg initiative in recognizing that together we can do more to build inclusive communities.

Join a Bay Area stakeholder team today!