Access to affordable, accessible, safe, and transit-close housing that is integrated into communities is the foundation upon which inclusive and healthy lives are built for people with disabilities. The accessibility of a home must also take into account the increased frequency of climate disasters and the inclusiveness of local government disaster planning and response programs. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Housing Act are key federal laws that prohibit disability nondiscrimination in housing and emergency response including the exclusion of people with disabilities from housing and emergency shelter opportunities, the denial of reasonable accommodations, failures to enforce architectural building requirements, and over-reliance on institutional placements. DREDF advocates to protect homeless and housing insecure people with disabilities from discriminatory policies and practices that prevent us from accessing the housing and emergency response opportunities available in our communities and works to expand the availability of affordable, accessible housing and inclusive disaster response programs in California.
Assistance Animals and Fair Housing Law
April 12, 2024
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Disability Discrimination in Housing, and What to Do if You Experience It
April 5, 2024
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How Reasonable Accommodations Under the ADA Help Unhoused People with Disabilities
February 20, 2024
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Assistance Animals in Housing – Current Challenges
December 7, 2023
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Home and Community-Based Services 101 Under CalAIM
December 5, 2023
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Introduction to Regional Center Services for Housing Advocates
November 16, 2023
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Fighting The Criminalization of Unhoused People with Disability Rights
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May 24, 2023
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Using Reasonable Accommodations and Reasonable Modifications to Avoid Eviction
April 21, 2023
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Hot Topics: Assistance Animals
April 14, 2023
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Fair Housing 101: Disability Rights in Housing
April 7, 2023
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Using Reasonable Accommodations and Reasonable Modifications to Address Lease Violations Resulting from Disability Related Behaviors
August 29, 2022
Disability-related behaviors can sometimes result in lease violations. If faced with an adverse housing action based on disability-related behaviors (e.g., notice to cure, notice of eviction), tenants and their advocates should assess whether there is a reasonable accommodation or reasonable modification available that can cure the lease violation. Tenants with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications under fair housing law even after a lease violation has occurred. Reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications can be powerful tools to prevent or challenge the eviction of disabled tenants. […]
California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM)
August 22, 2022
This webinar includes information on CalAIMs new statewide benefits and initiatives including Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports / In Lieu of Services.
These new benefits and initiatives are designed to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of Medi-Cal enrollees, especially those with the most complex health and social needs. The goal is to ensure access to coordinated, patient-centered care so Medi-Cal enrollees are supported and thrive.
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Disability Access in California Courts
June 29,2021
This training reviews a range of disability access obligations, the process for requesting reasonable accommodations and effective communications, and a number of pandemic-related court access barriers and potential solutions.
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Using Disability Rights Protections to Challenge Anti-Homelessness Ordinances
May 25, 2021
Local ordinances prohibiting sleeping and camping outside or in vehicles especially affect people with disabilities experiencing homelessness who may not be able to comply with these ordinances for disability-related reasons including lack of access to shelters and long-term housing. This training provides an overview of disability rights protections in the context of homelessness criminalization including a discussion of recent cases that have utilized disability rights arguments to create more accessible policies in our communities.
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DREDF Know Your Disability Rights in California: Rental Housing & COVID-19 Update (PDF)
April 29, 2021
DREDF has updated our Know Your Disability Rights in California: Rental Housing & COVID-19 fact sheet to include fundamentals and best practices for requesting reasonable accommodations in housing. This factsheet reviews the rights of tenants with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic,including the definition of disability in light of COVID-19, discrimination protections, and additional California renter protections. […]
DREDF and DRC Reply Comments on Phase 3 of CPUC Power Outage Proceeding
March 29, 2021
On March 29, 2021, DREDF and DRC filed reply comments as part of the third phase of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulatory proceedings on Investor Owned Utility (IOU) decisions to shut off power to consumers during extreme weather events. With this phase of the proceeding, the CPUC has begun to develop their regulations on providing backup power resources to people who utilize medical equipment during these emergencies. DREDF and DRC make recommendations on this proposal and others, and continue to advocate for the needs of the disability community during all stages of these disaster events. DREDF and DRC continue to be involved in a multi-prong approach to address effective mitigation of the life-threatening consequences to our community from these planned power outage emergencies. […]
East Bay Innovations: A Case Study (PDF)
Synopsis (PDF)
March 15, 2021
DREDF is an active partner with the Community Living Policy Center (CLPC) at the University of California San Francisco and Brandeis University. The CLPC engages in research and knowledge translation activities to improve policies and practices that promote community living and participation for people with disabilities of all ages. In collaboration with the CLPC, we are producing three case studies on promising housing practices that promote affordable, accessible housing and help people with disabilities move from institutions to homes in the community. The first case study in the series features East Bay Innovations (EBI), a nonprofit organization located in Alameda County, California, east of San Francisco. The organization, founded in1994, has built trusted relationships with diverse partners to create affordable, accessible housing and help people with disabilities move from institutions and unstable or inadequate housing to permanent homes in the community. […]
Disability Access in Coordinated Entry with COVID-19 Updates
February 23, 2021
Coordinated Entry is the process used by local jurisdictions who receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care funding to administer local homelessness assistance programs that prioritize people with disabilities for housing and services. Because these programs are vital to people with disabilities experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, this training will cover common disability access barriers, relevant disability rights, and best practices for tackling key issues. This training will also cover relevant COVID-19 updates related to Coordinated Entry.
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Know Your Disability Rights in California: Rental Housing & COVID-19 (PDF)
December 9, 2020
This factsheet reviews the rights of tenants with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Reasonable Accommodations in California Housing and COVID-19
December 1, 2020
The pandemic has highlighted how important disability rights protections are including the right of disabled tenants and shelter residents to receive reasonable accommodations to maintain housing stability. This training covers the definition of disability in light of COVID-19, reasonable accommodations that may be helpful to prevent evictions during this time, and additional California renter protections.
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DREDF Comments Urging TCAC to Adopt Increased Accessibility Standards
November 20, 2020
On Friday, November 20th, DREDF submitted comments strongly urging California’s Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) to adopt proposed regulatory changes that would increase the number of required mobility and sensory access features in new Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments. The LIHTC program is one of the state’s largest affordable housing development programs. TCAC initially proposed cutting these accessible housing requirements in half, but in response to overwhelming and compelling public testimony, TCAC has now proposed to increase accessible housing in new construction projects. If adopted, these regulatory changes provide an opportunity for California to address the accessibility gap in our state and set an example for the rest of the nation. […]
Comments on CDSS Draft ACL on Disaster Preparedness for IHSS Recipients
October 13, 2020
DREDF and Justice in Aging sent comments to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) on their Draft All County Letter (ACL) entitled Modifications to the Disaster Preparedness Screen in the Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS) and the Disaster Preparedness Data Download (DDL) File. Following an unprecedented number of disasters including planned power outages, county program staff, the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), and CDSS collaborated to expand the disaster preparedness information collected in the IHSS system and reported to Counties. Our comments made additional recommendations to further assist the counties to effectively identify and respond to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) recipients’ needs in the event of emergencies and disasters. […]
DREDF’s Comments Opposing HUD’s Anti-Transgender Shelter Rule
September 22, 2020
The proposed rule change would create a significant barrier to transgender people seeking shelter, many of whom are people with disabilities. Access to safe and secure housing is sometimes all that stands between transgender people and deadly violence. And people with disabilities already face high rates of chronic homelessness, heightened difficulty securing accessible shelter, and heightened risk from the COVID-19 global pandemic. The proposed rule change needlessly reinforces harmful stereotypes and promotes discrimination. Making these changes at a time when the country is facing its greatest public health crisis in over a century is unthinkably cruel. We strongly recommend that HUD completely withdraw the proposed rule change and instead focus on addressing longstanding housing barriers. […]
California HCBS Training 101 with COVID-19 Considerations
August 27, 2020
Medi-Cal funded Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are integral to maintaining housing stability for people with disabilities of all ages and older adults. This training will cover the definition of HCBS and the value of these services to the disability community including people with disabilities experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. The training will provide an overview of the HCBS available in California, information on ways to apply, and discuss ways in which the provision of HCBS are affected by COVID-19.
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Olmstead Lawsuit Challenges Alameda County’s Mental Health System, Seeks Systemic Changes
July 30, 2020
DREDF and co-counsel Disability Rights California (DRC), Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of DRC and its constituents with serious mental health disabilities against Alameda County and Alameda Health System. The lawsuit challenges the County’s failures to provide adequate community-based services to people with serious mental health disabilities causing unnecessarily cycling through the County’s locked facilities, including the John George Psychiatric Hospital and the Santa Rita Jail. The complaint details how Black people with serious mental health disabilities are harmed at staggeringly high rates by Alameda County’s failures to provide intensive and appropriate community-based services. The lawsuit seeks increased linkages and access to community-based services and decreased reliance on institutionalization. […]
DREDF Comments on Proposed Amendments to the California Building Code
May 14, 2020
DREDF commented on the California Building Standards Commission’s proposed amendments to the Building Code. In support of Disability Rights California’s steadfast advocacy in affordable, accessible housing, our comments support the proposed change to the definition of “public housing,” which would clarify the applicability of access laws to affordable housing programs across the state. For people with disabilities, this means that we will be able to find housing that we can afford and that will have the features we need to live self-sufficient, healthier lives in our communities. […]
DREDF Comments on HUD Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Proposed Rule
March 16, 2020
DREDF submitted comments March 16 to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed rule to weaken the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule in an effort to reverse government progress on discriminatory housing practices. The proposal affects people with disabilities and communities of color by allowing local jurisdictions to leave unaddressed fundamental disability and racial segregation obligations of fair housing law. DREDF urges HUD to uphold its commitment to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing for people with disabilities and other covered classes, and to withdraw this proposed rule in its entirety and reinstate the 2015 AFFH Rule. […]
DREDF Reaches Settlement with Marin County to Improve Accessibility in County’s Disaster Response Programs
November 19, 2019
On behalf of California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, DREDF and Disability Rights Advocates settled March 2019 allegations that Marin County’s outdated Emergency Operations Plan from 2014 was lacking in the integration of emergency planning for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. […]
DREDF’s Comments in Opposition to HUD’s Proposed Changes to the “Disparate Impact” Rule
October 18, 2019
DREDF submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) proposed changes to the “Disparate Impact” rule. DREDF urged the Department to withdraw the rule in its entirety. HUD’s Proposed Rule would impose drastic changes to the Fair Housing Act’s “disparate impact” protections. These changes would make it much more difficult to use HUD’s Disparate Impact rule to challenge policies and practices that disproportionately harm people with disabilities. […]
DREDF Response Comments on CPUC Intentional Power Outage Proceeding
October 15, 2019
DREDF filed our response comments as part of the second phase of the California Public Utilities Commission regulatory proceedings on Investor Owned Utility decisions to shut off power to consumers during extreme weather events. DREDF is deeply concerned that the Investor Owned Utilities are not doing nearly enough to meet the needs of the disability community during all stages of these intentional power outages. DREDF will continue to be involved in a multi-prong approach to address the current inadequacies of the intentional power outage process. […]
DREDF Comment in Support of the Preservation of the Existing Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule
October 15, 2018
DREDF joined advocates across the country in filing comments to support the preservation of the existing Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule, finalized in 2015. The AFFH Rule is vital to ensure that all people, including people with disabilities, have fair and equal access to the affordable housing opportunities that we need. […]
Health Disparities at the Intersection of Disability and Gender Identity: A Framework and Literature Review
July 2018
New Guide on Disability and Homelessness Programs (PDF)
May 2018
As part of our disability and housing advocacy, DREDF created “Legal Obligations, Model Policies, and Practices to Support Persons with Disabilities in the Coordinated Entry System Process” to address access barriers in homelessness assistance programs serving people with disabilities. These programs utilize Coordinated Entry Systems to assess housing needs, prioritize resources, and detail available assistance options, including immediate shelter and longer-term housing. This guide is intended to inform disability advocates and other communities about the need for, and availability of, accessibility in the provision of these essential services. […]
SB 550 – Affordable Accessible Housing for Low-Income People With Disabilities
April 23, 2013
SB 550 is a modest bill which will help California meet the needs of its rapidly growing population of seniors, its veterans, and all low income people with disabilities who need affordable homes which meet their needs and enable them to stay out of institutions and be part of their communities. […]
Groundbreaking Settlement Agreement with San Francisco
September 18, 2008
Today in federal district court, Judge William H. Alsup granted final approval of the settlement agreement in the civil rights class action filed to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities at Laguna Honda Hospital, Chambers et al. v. City and County of San Francisco. The settlement will greatly increase community-based housing and service options in San Francisco as well as improve coordination of care. […]
Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing vs. Lytton Gardens, Inc., Community Housing Inc., and Carrasco & Associates
July, 2000
DREDF and co-counsel Legal Strategies Group represented Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (MCFH) in a fair housing lawsuit against Lytton Courtyard Apartments for violating architectural design and construction requirements that apply to new construction. […]