Why Inclusive Communities?

Segregating a person based on a medical diagnosis is a civil rights issue as much as segregating based on race, religion, familiar status, color, sexual orientation, gender, or age. So, deciding all people with a mental disability should live together is a fair housing issue. Creating a housing project with the intention to congregate a group based on a diagnosis is also a civil rights issue.

Routinely, children and adults with disabilities were sent to institutions to live out their days in the 1940's, 50's and 60's. This looked a lot like incarceration. Yet, even today some parents have indicated that they feel safer having their children live in large group settings, with people with similar needs, to insure that their loved ones receive the quality care and services. This is a valid concern for many caregivers, but it is our hope that we can create strategies and environments to meet each individual's specific needs and preferences while still providing more inclusion into one's community. To respond to these loving but concerned parents, we interviewed a few individuals with disabilities that have a public voice to speak to these concerns as well as to advocate for inclusive communities:

As Steve Ruskin, a member of the disability community and an advocate for others in the public sector, has said, "Inclusion is necessary; people need to understand people are people. No matter what they look or sound like, people need to relate to people with disabilities on an equal level. If people with disabilities are integrated into neighborhoods, two things will happen: people will start to understand and want to associate with people with disabilities and see the people with disabilities can function in society. By having people in neighborhoods that are inclusive to all, people with disabilities will live full quality lives. People will even see that people with disabilities can work and have employment opportunities. Congregating people with disabilities together promotes poverty and does not contribute to recovery. People of disabilities living with people with non-disabilities can learn from each other and depend upon each other because we live in an interdependent world."

Sarah, a peer advocate and a member of the disability community said, "inclusive communities are those in which contributions are encouraged by all members, these communities promote diversity by welcoming the presence and acknowledge the value of every human being regardless of age, gender, disability or diagnosis." "Inclusive communities are important because all people have a contribution and all people have value."

If a group of people is excluded then there is something missing in that community and it has not reached its full potential.

Below are some of the laws that have supported Inclusive Communities in the last 50 years:

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended ("Section 504") prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability status and states that:
"No qualified individual with handicaps shall, solely on the basis of handicap be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance from the Department"

• The Fair Housing Act ("FHA") prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings. The FHA requires reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, services and reasonable modifications to dwelling units and public common areas

• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability status by public entities. Except as provided in §35.102 (b), of 28 CFR Part 35, the ADA applies to all services, programs and activities provided or made available by public entities (State and local governments)

• Part 8, of Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24, Housing and Urban Development, entitled Non-Discrimination Based On Handicap in Federally Assisted Programs and Activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development applies to recipients of federal funds and implements the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act.