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SDHP has long
advocated that people with disabilities must have safe, affordable, accessible
and non-segregated housing. Individuals with disabilities, like all people, are
entitled to choose where and with whom they live and not be relegated to the
fringes of communities or forced into institutions for lack of livable
alternatives. The complexity of the housing issue for people with disabilities
is and has been the main impediment to fostering greater choice. The housing
issue involves more than simple shelter. People with disabilities must be
given an opportunity to stay in their homes whenever home modifications are
possible.
The PA
Accessible Housing Program provides grants to local entities to carry out
home modification programs that will enable low and moderate-income persons with
permanent disabilities to make their current home more accessible. Out of 67
counties in Pennsylvania, there are twenty nine counties that do not participate
in the PA Accessible Housing Program. SDHP contracts with the Pennsylvania
Department of Community and Economic Development to provide a comprehensive home
modification program to low and moderate-income Pennsylvanians with physical and
sensory disabilities living in areas of the state that are not covered by the PA
Accessible Housing Program.
SDHP
collaborates with Residential Living Options, Inc., Center for Independent
Living (CIL) of Central PA, ACTION-Housing, Inc., Life and Independence For
Today (LIFT) and Voices for Independence to provide services in the counties not
covered by the PA Accessible Housing Program. Contracting agencies will
provide applicants with assistance as needed in the following areas:
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Consumer information regarding alternatives to modifying their current
residences
- Home
modification assessments and recommendations
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Modification specifications and hiring of contractors
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Construction management
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Final inspections and close outs
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