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Advocates press for permanent changes to Alternative Housing Voucher Program to help people with disabilities
Summary
Legislators and disability advocates urged the committee to codify and strengthen the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP), including authorizing project‑based vouchers, aligning standards with MRVP and Section 8, and raising eligibility ages to better serve non‑elderly people with disabilities.
Legislators and disability advocates urged the Joint Committee on Housing to enact S.1004, which would codify and strengthen the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) used by non‑elderly adults with disabilities.
Senator Robin Kennedy, lead sponsor, told the committee the bill would align AHVP more closely with the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and federal Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) and permanently authorize operational improvements that have been piloted in recent budgets. Supporters said the changes would allow project‑based vouchers, simplify administration, increase payment standards and expand eligibility to better move people from institutional settings or unstable housing into accessible, affordable community units.
Benji Kemper, community organizer at the Center for Living and Working, and multiple recipients and advocates described the program’s life‑changing effect. Kemper recounted clients who had spent months or years in nursing homes because they could not find affordable accessible units and estimated long wait lists at some housing authorities for non‑elderly accessible units. Destiny Maxim, an AHVP recipient who said she waited seven years on the list, described how receiving a voucher provided “breathing room” and enabled independent living, work and stable family life.
Witnesses urged codification of project‑basing to create dedicated accessible units, protection of unspent funds, and clearer eligibility and administrative rules so providers and tenants can navigate the program consistently. Disability policy organizations, independent living centers, Mass SILC and statewide disability councils described AHVP as a critical, but undersized, component of Massachusetts’ housing safety net.
Supporters asked the committee to report the bill favorably and said they would submit follow‑up data documenting wait lists, voucher counts and outcomes for participants who moved from nursing homes and other congregate settings into the community.
