MAINSTREAM VOUCHER PROGRAM - EXPLANATION OF DISABILITY-ELIGIBILITY

Funds received to assist non-elderly persons with disabilities who are transitioning out of institutional or other segregated settings, at serious risk of institutionalization, homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.

YOU MUST MEET THE ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD CRITERIA:

Eligible household: A household composed of one or more non-elderly person with disabilities, which may include additional household members who are not non-elderly persons with disabilities.

Non-elderly person with disabilities (for purposes of determining eligibility): A person 18 years of age or older and less than 62 years of age, and who:

Has a disability, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 423; is determined, pursuant to HUD regulations, to have a physical, mental, or emotional impairment that: is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration; substantially impedes his/her ability to live independently, and is of such a nature that the ability to live independently could be improved by more suitable housing conditions; or has a developmental disability.

AND YOU MUST BE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

1.    Institutional or other segregated settings:  include, but are not limited to: congregate settings populated exclusively or primarily with    individuals with disabilities; congregate settings characterized by regimentation in daily activities, lack of privacy or autonomy, policies limiting visitors, or limits on individuals’ ability to engage freely in community activities and to manage their own activities of daily living; or settings that provide for daytime activities primarily with other individuals with disabilities.

2.    At serious risk of institutionalization: Includes an individual with a disability who as a result of a public entity's failure to provide community services or its cut to such services will likely cause a decline in health, safety, or welfare that would lead to the individual's eventual placement in an institution. A person cannot be considered at serious risk of institutionalization unless the person has a disability. An individual may be designated as at serious risk of institutionalization either by a health and human services agency, by a community-based organization, or by self-identification.

3.    Homeless: An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground; can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities; chronic physical health or mental health conditions; substance addiction; histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse (including neglect); the presence of a child or youth with a disability; and any individual or family who is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a family member, including a child, that has either taken place within the individual‘s or family‘s primary nighttime residence or has made the individual or family afraid to return to their primary nighttime residence.

4.    At risk of becoming homeless: An individual or family who does not have sufficient resources or support networks, e.g., family, friends, faith-based or other social networks, immediately available to prevent them from moving to an emergency shelter or another place; is living in the home of another because of economic hardship.

5.    Transitional/ Supportive Housing Program:  Programs that promote assistance through Continuum of Care to persons with disabilities, increase the supply of accessible units, or provide additional supportive services to persons with disabilities to ensure housing stability. This includes Shelter Plus Care and Rapid/Transitional-rehousing who offer limited housing assistance in which supportive services are provided to assist homeless persons rapidly connect to and maintain permanent housing.

PLEASE NOTE:  *A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK WILL BE OBTAINED ON EVERYONE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 18 YEARS AND OLDER!*

**YOU MUST MEET INCOME ELIGIBILITY!**