Housing That's Home for People With (or Without) Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The residents who have been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities typically receive Supplemental Security Income benefits (with a maximum of $967 a month in 2025), Medicaid Waiver funding, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and, for many, some employment income. Since rental assistance program (RAP) certificates require that each resident spend no more than 30 percent of their adjusted gross income on rent and utilities, the RAP pays the difference between that number and the listed rent, enabling residents to use their remaining income for food and personal expenses.

The families of qualifying residents are not required to contribute financially, although many do. The apartment complexes are typically located in places that are either walkable to nearby amenities or close to public transit; if they are not, transportation services are provided to the residents with I/DD.

Supports delivered by service providers approved by Connecticut’s Department of Developmental Services are based on each tenant’s level of need for tasks that can include cleaning, cooking, laundry, bill-paying, shopping and transportation to appointments and work.

Among the many reassurances to parents is that the residents with I/DD can reside in their apartments and receive needed supports throughout their lives.

Comparing ISH and Traditional Group Homes

Integrated supportive housing developments typically have a 75/25 split between units that are available for people without and with disabilities.

Lauren and Scott on their wedding day. Future apartment mates Megan and Kristin. Erin dining in her apartment.

Family-provided courtesy photos

A Home of One’s Own

Three families share their experiences with integrated supportive housing. Read

“The residents with I/DD get true integration into a larger community,” says Regan, who adds that because traditional group home residences are often located far from a town or area’s activity hubs, living in one can be isolating.

A benefit to the service provider, local government or (most commonly) a nonprofit organization is the cost efficiency of apartments that are located in a single complex as opposed to housing people in smaller homes in disconnected locations.

“With the apartment complex model, you’ve got built-in staffing and transportation efficiencies,” explains Morris. “In a group home setting, you generally have staff there 24 hours a day. However, there are a lot of residents in those settings that, if they had the proper supports, wouldn’t necessarily have 24-hour needs. The integrated supportive housing model provides the needed staffing in more affordable and efficient ways.”

The most important benefit of a supportive housing, apartment-based model may be that it provides people who have I/DD with increased independence.

“Over the past decade, more individuals and their families have sought more independent living solutions to the traditional group home model,” says Elba Caraballo, who in 2022 became the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services’ first housing director. “My position was created in response to the growing demand for diverse living options. Roles like mine were designed to support and facilitate new choices. With all advances in assistive technology, we are able to ensure safety in the context of expanded independence and autonomy.”

While supportive housing doesn’t work for every person with I/DD, especially if they require a high level of care, Morris believes that as the model expands and improves, and service providers learn from their experiences, it can work for more and more individuals. Some residents of Favarh’s group homes have successfully transferred into integrated supportive housing apartments.

Sharing and Repeating the ISH Model

By creating more ways to meet the diverse needs of people with I/DD, the integrated supportive housing model helps free up space in group home settings for individuals who require more direct or complex services.

“Housing developments go up everywhere, which creates an opportunity for developers and service providers to partner,” says Caraballo. “Legislative and funding changes have supported the development and expansion of such housing models, making them more feasible and attractive to all the stakeholders involved.”

“The integrated housing model is more than just a good idea for a few apartment projects,” Morris adds. “It’s a new and vital option that more states should implement.”

Caraballo, Morris and Regan cite the numerous benefits of integrated supportive housing:

• Local governments and nonprofit service providers benefit by being able to provide affordable and accessible housing options to people in the community, including people with I/DD.

• People with I/DD benefit from a more community-based and integrated housing option that is available to them much sooner than previous choices, such as group homes.

• Families benefit from knowing that their loved ones have a safe and long-term place to live.

• Developers benefit because their projects often get approved faster when they include people with I/DD. (Developers can apply to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.)

• Service providers benefit by having more clients live within the community, and at a lower cost, rather than isolated from it. States save money when compared with the costs of operating group homes.

•  The creation of ISH apartment complexes help reduce the long waiting lists for affordable and accessible housing.

Everybody Knows Someone

“Everywhere we've done this, we've encountered a sort of six degrees of separation situation,” says Regan. “At one of our developments, we told a neighboring property owner, ‘This is what we're looking to do.’ Instead of the typical NIMBY, ‘What are you doing in my neighborhood?’ type response, we got, ‘I know three people who could benefit from something like this. If we can do something to help you make this happen, let us know.’”

“That’s unusual for an affordable housing developer to hear,” Regan continues. “But it happens because everybody knows someone who has a disability. As adults with I/DD start living in integrated community settings, it educates the community. Decades-old, inaccurate, preconceived assumptions begin to change. People with developmental disabilities are so much more capable than many people know.”

Word of the integrated supportive housing model’s success in Connecticut has spread. Favarh has been contacted by social service providers in California, Tennessee and New Hampshire seeking advice.

“We're really proud in Connecticut to have taken the lead on something that I do believe is very replicable,” says Morris. “We want to share what we know with people in other states. What we’re doing is really changing community living in dramatic ways.”