Finally Home! Reflecting on 5 Years.

Blue background with a yellow shape of a house with white clouds and green bushes. In the house is a picture of two men. One is standing and the other is sitting in a power wheelchair. Both are smiling at the camera.
Robert Zotynia, 10/25/2023
Read more articles about: Housing Supports in Action

Time flies when you’re having fun. And what’s more fun than helping people take control and find a home of their own!?

For five years, Values Into Action PA has worked on the Person Directed Housing Grant. We did this with funding from the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council (PADDC). The project name is Finally Home.

The project was led by a group of people who believe everyone deserves a place to call home. I chaired the Project Advisory Committee.

Below is a glance at what we did.

THE PROJECT TIMELINE

Years One & Two (1 & 2)

  • Put together and met with the Project Advisory Committee
  • Identified participants with a developmental disability desiring to take control of their housing
  • Developed and conducted Housing Options Training
  • Co-produced and provided person-centered Housing Planning
  • Collaborated with other project partners

Year Three (3)

  • Expanded Project Advisory Committee
  • Conducted Housing Manual User Guide Training
  • Continued individualized person-centered housing planning with participants
  • Compiled and analyzed feedback surveys throughout the project
  • Continued to Refine the Housing Manual User Guide

Year Four (4)

  • Project Advisory Committee continued to meet and added representatives from the State Centers
  • Identified self-advocates to serve as paid advisors, trainers, and facilitators for project activities.
  • Hosted 4 virtual Housing webinars/trainings for key stakeholders
  • Organized and hosted the Taking Control of YOUR Housing Symposium

Year Five (5)

  • Project Advisory Committee transitioned to the Housing Advocacy Workgroup
  • Finalization of the Housing Transition and Tenancy Sustainability (HTTS) Training Curriculum
  • Piloted the curriculum to include Self-Advocates as trainers
  • Submitted the HTTS training curriculum to PADDC and ODP for final recommendations
  • Facilitated Informational forums on the HTTS Service
  • Finalized and released the HTTS Service Training Guide

THE IMPACT

  • We engaged with 12 project participants
    • 3 found housing of their own!
    • 9 began using the HTTS service to work toward their housing-related goals
  • 376 stakeholders educated through Information Sessions
  • 105 providers attended the pilot HTTS Training
  • 47 people are currently supported through the Housing Transition & Tenancy Sustaining Service (HTTS) at Values Into Action
  • The Finally Home Housing Toolkit User Guide was published!
  • The Housing Transition & Tenancy Sustaining Service Training Guide was published!
  • We raised awareness through co-produced presentations, including:
    • Independent Monitoring for Quality Statewide Training in July 2023National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Annual Conference in July 2023Nation Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices & Systems (NCAPPS) Housing Webinar in April 2023
    • ODP’s ISAC Housing Subcommittee in July 2023
  • We achieved System Change, including:
    • A limiting timeline was removed from the service definition. HTTS can now be authorized annually!Indirect support is now allowed. Previously, HTTS was only allowed when the participant was present.The HTTS rate was increased, resulting in more qualified providers.
    • ODP’s Information Sharing & Advisory Committee (ISAC) Housing Subcommittee was created

The grant has ended but there’s still more to do. We will continue to advocate for change. We will continue to partner with others. And we will continue to support people, like me, to find their Finally Home.

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

Maya Angelou

Pictured: Robert & his SSP, Omar, at a baseball game.