Supported housing for persons with complex disabilities

JDC Israel Unlimited’s ‘Expanded Supported Housing’ programme supports adults with severe disabilities aged 21–55 to live independently. The services include help finding an apartment, actualizing rights, budgeting, cultivating autonomy, and building independent life skills as well as ongoing support.

In 2019, JDC Israel Unlimited developed the Expanded Supported Housing programme in partnership with the Israeli Government. The programme supported 16 adults with severe disabilities aged 21-55 to live independently. The services include help finding an apartment, actualizing rights, budgeting, cultivating autonomy, and building independent life skills. Based on the pilot project, JDC is expanding the project, and the Israeli Government will adopt it in the next five years.

Problems Targeted

Many adults in Israel with severe disabilities end up in institutions due to a lack of facilities and supportive housing programmes.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Expanded Supported Housing programme focuses on adults with severe disabilities transitioning to living independently in the community. The programme includes preparing the individual for the move, finding an apartment, and adapting it to the occupant’s various needs. JDC also provides ongoing personal mentoring and training in life skills for as long as the adult needs it. The model is a continuation of a previous Supported Housing programme by JDC, designed for people with less severe disabilities. Due to the success of this earlier project, many parents and people with disabilities requested more extensive services. In comparison with the previous project, the programme offers extended hours of support, adapted services to take the various disabilities into account, and extended participation of families. In early 2022 the project transitioned from the pilot phase to the actual programme phase in two locations.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The programme is funded jointly by the Israeli Government and philanthropic money raised by JDC Israel. The budget includes costs related to pilot development and training, which amounts to $4.4 million per year. In June 2022, a new law was passed in Israel to support the transition of people with disabilities from institutions to community living, with a budget of $500 million for the next five years. There are more than 16,000 persons living in institutions is Israel. It is expected that the Israeli Ministry of Social Services will incorporate the programme entirely, reaching 210 participants by 2025.

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