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Supportive Services that Make Community Living Possible

Many older adults and people with disabilities need help with the daily tasks of life. For some people this is physical help such as help with dressing and eating. For others, it is help with making decisions and planning. Still others require a blend of supports. Each person is unique, and the help they may need is unique, as well. The services they receive, therefore, also should be unique — they should be planned in accordance with the preferences and priorities of the person receiving them, and provided in a way that fits that person's life.

Supportive services provide assistance with everyday activities and help make it possible for many people with disabilities and older adults to live in their chosen housing environments and participate in their communities. Meals, transportation, personal care assistance, housekeeping, case management, wellness checks, tenancy support, and care coordination some examples of services that help people thrive in their communities.

Access to needed services is a key component of making a person's home, and their community, accessible, so there is clear benefit to improving coordination and collaboration between the housing, aging and disability, home and community-based services, homelessness services, and health sectors. Such partnerships can bring community living and health services to rental properties, remove barriers so services are easier to obtain, make homes more accessible, fill vacancies with renters who have housing vouchers, and more.

Emerging Partnerships and Opportunities

The links below provide information about some new or recently modified programs available that support community living with access to voluntary services. By learning about these programs, you can begin to identify opportunities to collaborate with other sectors to help people access services that support housing stability, health, and independence.

The Transitions Out of Institutions section has related information on housing choice vouchers, recent changes to the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, and the enhanced federal funding available to states under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Solutions for Access to Services that Support Community Living

The links below provide information about evidence-based programs and practices to enhance access to voluntary services that support community living and health. You can use this information to identify opportunities to collaborate with other sectors to help people stay in or return to housing in the community.

Core Knowledge

The links below can build core knowledge about this topic or help you find networks of service providers who may be potential partners. To support action on enhancing access to services, also visit our collections of tools and model practices and partnerships.

Transportation

  • ADA-PARC: website with a collection of public data sets on the status of people with disabilities at the national, state, county, and city levels in three main areas: community living, community participation, and work & economics
  • Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM): federal interagency council that works to coordinate funding and provide expertise on human services transportation for three priority populations: people with disabilities, older adults, and individuals of low income
  • National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC): national technical assistance program that promotes the availability and accessibility of transportation service options for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers
  • National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT): a technical assistance center to provide small-urban, rural, and tribal transit agencies with practical, replicable resources that help them apply technological solutions and innovations
  • National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM): a national technical assistance center to promote customer-centered mobility strategies that advance good health, economic vitality, self-sufficiency, and community
  • National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP): a program to address the training and technical assistance needs of rural and tribal transit operators across the nation, and support state RTAP programs. Technical assistance programs and resources including webinars, newsletters and technical briefs, research, and more are available
  • Shared-Use Mobility Center: an organization dedicated to achieving equitable, affordable, and environmentally sound mobility across the U.S. through the efficient sharing of transportation assets
  • Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library (TACL): a platform for access and findability of rural and tribal transit coordination resources across a diverse range of transportation technical assistance centers and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Last modified on 10/17/2024


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