State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R‑105) testified before the legislature’s Housing Committee earlier this week on legislation she introduced this session to make public housing safer for the elderly and people with disabilities.
The bill, H.B. 5463, aims to increase the number of spots in public housing for seniors, and also creates separate housing for younger persons with disabilities, which will make living conditions safer and affordability greater for all.
“This bill is an important proposal to ensure the safety of elderly persons and younger persons with disabilities living in public housing,” explained Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “The intent of this bill is not to minimize the necessity for quality affordable housing for the young disabled population, but rather to address the fact that both are necessary and present distinctly different needs and lifestyles, which would be best, served in separate settings.”
The 2004 report, Mixing Populations in State Elderly/Disabled Housing Projects issued by the Legislative Program and Review and Investigations Committee reported the negative impact of mixing young disabled people with elderly individuals. Massachusetts passed a law in 1995 that set a goal to limit the amount of non-elderly disabled individuals who can live in state-assisted low-income senior housing to 13.5%. Connecticut currently has roughly half of its senior public housing utilized by the younger disabled.
The Housing Committee will now have to vote on the proposal for the legislation to move forward. Residents can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website, cga.ct.gov.
