Needham disabilities commission backs CPC funding for two accessible-housing projects

The Needham Commission on Disabilities voted March 11 to send a letter of support to the Community Preservation Committee for two projects that would add or preserve accessible housing in town and authorized its co-chairs to finalize the letter before the commission’s next meeting.

Town housing specialist Allison Steinfeld briefed the commission on the gap between the supply of subsidized, accessible housing in Needham and the local population with disabilities. "There are less than 130 subsidized housing units for the disabled in Needham," Steinfeld said, noting that figure combines 84 DDS-classified group-home units and about 46 one‑bedroom units at the Needham Housing Authority’s Seabeds Way development. She added that Needham has 11,754 housing units in total and cited 2020 Census estimates that roughly 2,262 residents — about 7.4 percent of the civilian non‑institutionalized population — report a disability.

The exchange followed Steinfeld’s overview of town policy and state requirements. She said Needham has met the state target for including 10 percent of units in the…