You may detect a note of sarcasm on my part, when I describe what is being proposed here in Ann Arbor to much acclaim. If this were proposed by families of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as a housing and service solution for their family members, some advocacy groups would denounce the effort as an attempt to re-institutionalize people with IDD and segregate them from society by providing services where they live targeted to their specific needs.
Because this project is designed for young professionals, with the idea of helping them save money and share services with other like-minded adults, we are unlikely to hear cries of righteous indignation and accusations that it is just a scheme to oppress and infantilize young professionals. This is a complaint you would inevitably hear if this was built for people with disabilities. I think it would be a fine idea to have an option like this for people with disabilities who prefer group living and can benefit from it.
To be clear, housing people with disabilities was not an issue in this article, and I don't mean to imply that there was any hint of discrimination by the city or developer against any particular group of people. This is just me, struck by the contrast in how we think about non-disabled people just living their lives, and people with disabilities being caught up in controversies over other people wanting to decide for them how they should live.
The Housing Project for Young Professionals:
The Housing Project for Young Professionals:
A developer will build 11 six-bedroom units, that city officials initially assumed was for students used to dorm-like living:
“This is emphatically not a student housing project,” said developer Heidi Mitchell of Prentice Partners of Ann Arbor.
“It is actually a co-living, co-working space with (shared) vehicles targeted toward young professionals.”
Here is what is planned:
“The apartments are conceived as three-story walkups, with the first floor being a common area with kitchen/dining and living/gathering spaces, four bedrooms, each with a bathroom, on the second floor, and two bedrooms with a shared bathroom on the third floor.
“‘Each townhome is designed to be a standalone unit, sharing only the exterior areas as collective commons space,’ the plans state, noting there will be a row of five units and a row of six units, with a ‘mews’ design that allows for communal access and gathering between."
...
“It is actually a co-living, co-working space with (shared) vehicles targeted toward young professionals.”
Here is what is planned:
“The apartments are conceived as three-story walkups, with the first floor being a common area with kitchen/dining and living/gathering spaces, four bedrooms, each with a bathroom, on the second floor, and two bedrooms with a shared bathroom on the third floor.
“‘Each townhome is designed to be a standalone unit, sharing only the exterior areas as collective commons space,’ the plans state, noting there will be a row of five units and a row of six units, with a ‘mews’ design that allows for communal access and gathering between."
...
“Bedrooms will be about 150 square feet, giving each tenant what Mitchell calls their own ‘cocoon suite.’
“Each townhouse will have its own front door access, as well as a second access from the communal area.”
The project is designed to allow people to live without owning their own car and to share workspaces so they can work from home if they want.
“The site is within walking and bicycling distance of downtown, the UM campus, a grocery store, CVS, and other destinations, including a bowling alley and UM athletic facilities, with nearby access to public transit.”
“'Obviously we’re not allowed to say you can’t rent if you’re a student, but I can promise you all of our marketing efforts will be directed toward people who are in the workforce,' she said, calling housing for young professionals 'definitely an area of need in the city.'
“'..all of our marketing efforts will be directed toward people who are in the workforce,' says the developer and not at students. "
Do I detect a whiff of discrimination here, not to mention segregation? Definitely not! This is for normal people choosing to live together who also lead their own lives and find it easier and less expensive when so many of their needs can be met in one place.
But six bedrooms in one townhome??? That sounds suspiciously like a group home, congregate living, an intolerable predicament if the people who were living there were disabled. And there is no doubt about it, 11 town homes in close proximity to each other with six people living together in each unit definitely makes it an institution.
“Each townhouse will have its own front door access, as well as a second access from the communal area.”
The project is designed to allow people to live without owning their own car and to share workspaces so they can work from home if they want.
“The site is within walking and bicycling distance of downtown, the UM campus, a grocery store, CVS, and other destinations, including a bowling alley and UM athletic facilities, with nearby access to public transit.”
“'Obviously we’re not allowed to say you can’t rent if you’re a student, but I can promise you all of our marketing efforts will be directed toward people who are in the workforce,' she said, calling housing for young professionals 'definitely an area of need in the city.'
“'..all of our marketing efforts will be directed toward people who are in the workforce,' says the developer and not at students. "
Do I detect a whiff of discrimination here, not to mention segregation? Definitely not! This is for normal people choosing to live together who also lead their own lives and find it easier and less expensive when so many of their needs can be met in one place.
But six bedrooms in one townhome??? That sounds suspiciously like a group home, congregate living, an intolerable predicament if the people who were living there were disabled. And there is no doubt about it, 11 town homes in close proximity to each other with six people living together in each unit definitely makes it an institution.
Oh, the horror! Bring on the Young Professional Self-Advocates who know exactly how every young professional should live and will work tirelessly to stop this project in its tracks!
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See also, "Saline, Michigan: Families take the initiative in creating new housing for people with DD", The DD News Blog, 2/13/18
"...Dohn Hoyle thinks the Saline project falls short. Hoyle is the public policy director for the ARC Michigan. Because the condos will have 24-hour care and house only residents with disabilities, Hoyle sees less independence than what’s being marketed…'It will be their own place in the sense of their own condo, but remember what you’ve done is you’ve set up a group-living situation [by] having everybody who lives there have a disability,’ Hoyle said.”
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See also, "Saline, Michigan: Families take the initiative in creating new housing for people with DD", The DD News Blog, 2/13/18
"...Dohn Hoyle thinks the Saline project falls short. Hoyle is the public policy director for the ARC Michigan. Because the condos will have 24-hour care and house only residents with disabilities, Hoyle sees less independence than what’s being marketed…'It will be their own place in the sense of their own condo, but remember what you’ve done is you’ve set up a group-living situation [by] having everybody who lives there have a disability,’ Hoyle said.”
3 comments:
Jill, you did it again. I laughed out loud.
Thank you, thank you! I have been making this same argument for a while. Why aren’t adults with I/DD able to be a community without needing others without it? Talk about devaluing people with disabilities.
There needs to be a class action lawsuit. I'd love to see that happen....
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