Housing: America's hidden economic crisis

One of the main hidden costs of having an intellectual disability is the housing option. There are 38 million people in the United States that possess intellectual disabilities, 18 million of which are eligible for housing options but do not receive them. Many, 7 million in the United States, end up living with their parents their entire life. An astounding 52% of heads of households over people with intellectual disabilities are over the age of 55, which shows how their ability to be a proper and energetic head of the house is dwindling. Furthermore, the future of those who live with older heads of households raises the question of their housing situation once their parents pass away. Should parents really be forced to take care of their disabled children even when they are struggling to maintain a healthy livelihood of their own? 

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Some families are too poor to even seek other options, and some do not have other family members or friends to care for their children. In actual terms, the median income for households with someone with an intellectual disability is 42,000, which is 60% of the national average. Of those who are in low-income households with intellectual disabilities, only 16% receive housing assistance. Also, only about ⅓ of eligible candidates receive Medicaid. The waiting lists for some of the homes that those with Intellectual disabilities are sent to are long and grueling. We must seek a new way out of this process. 

If these statistics tell you anything, it is that there is a major injustice in the housing process for those with intellectual disabilities. The main way to combat this problem is to fix the public policy regarding housing for those with disabilities. Medicaid needs to adapt to this discrepancy and create a housing search aspect of its program. Medicaid needs to use their ability to partner with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to coordinate a prudent path for those with intellectual disabilities to find proper housing. This is related to Medicaid’s mission because better housing directly correlates to better health.

 American tax payers pay thousands of dollars every year for the better of the American dream, and right now Americans with intellectual disabilities are living the opposite of a dream. The housing crisis in the American economy must be mended as soon as possible to ensure a just future for Americans with intellectual disabilities.