TESTIMONY OF KELLY BUCKLAND ON THE

JUSTICE IN FAIR HOUSING ACT OF 1999

October 28, 1999

Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Kelly Buckland and I am the Executive Director of the Idaho State Independent Living Council and a board member of the National Council on Independent Living. It is an honor for me to be here today to provide testimony on the "Justice in Fair Housing Enforcement Act of 1999" and the important issues of discrimination, fair housing and people with disabilities.

Anyone in the independent living movement will list housing as one of the most significant problems facing people with disabilities today. There's not enough of it. It is unaffordable. And it is inaccessible.

In 1995 the Idaho State Independent Living Council contracted with Boise State University to conduct a needs assessment of Idaho residents with disabilities. The study found that 18.74 % of Idahoans have a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, 44 % of Idaho households contain at least one person with a disability, and that 9 % of those people have a mobility impairment which necessitated them using either a cane, crutches, or a wheelchair.

The study performed by the council also asked people with disabilities to identify the two main barriers to them living independently. Idahoans with disabilities identified increased independence and social understanding and respect as the most important problem for people with disabilities. I believe that if a similar study was conducted nation wide, that the numbers would be fairly consistent with what we found in Idaho.

Also, as we all know the population of the United States is aging at a steadily increasing rate. Most people, as they age, acquire a disability due to a stroke, broken hip, circulation problems, arthritis, etc.

However, those of us in the independent living movement don't need statistics to know there's a real problem. We work with people every day who are forced to live in institutions, or nursing homes, because of a lack of accessible housing in the community. We know that people live on the streets because the homeless shelter is not accessible. We know that people are imprisoned in inaccessible housing and do not have the resources, financial or otherwise, to make their housing accessible, or to move. We know that people with disabilities are abused and remain in abusive situations, because domestic violence shelters are not accessible.

Here are some real examples of situations that people with disabilities have encountered in Idaho:

1) The local Center for Independent Living (CIL) was contacted by Adult Protection regarding a homeless man who needed accessible housing. They were not able to find any accessible apartments. As a result, he was being screened for entry into a nursing home. His only choice was to move into a 24-hour attendant home, rather than a nursing home, even though he only needed to use an attendant three hours a day.

2) Because of a hospitalization a woman with a disability lost her housing. The hospital discharged her to a nursing home because she did not have an accessible housing alternative.

3) A woman with multiple sclerosis lived in a four-plex which was the most accessible housing available. When she moved in she used a cane. Since that time, her MS progressed and she began using a wheelchair. The landlord would not allow her to add a ramp because he believed it would lower his property's value. The local CIL assisted her in trying to locate accessible housing. The first place she looked at told her they had no accessible apartments because they were not set up to care for people like her. The second place, she could not enter the rental office because there was no accessible pathway. She returned home and called them, inquiring about the accessibility of their apartments. They responded, saying we do not have any accessible apartments, we do not get any requests for them.

4) One of our State Independent Living Council members contacted approximately 50 housing providers looking for accessible housing. He finally found a newer apartment complex that was not accessible but would allow modifications to his apartment if he paid for them. Even after modifications the apartment was not accessible. He can not close the bathroom door. He has to have someone help with cooking because the kitchen is inaccessible. He has to park in the fire lane because there are no accessible parking spaces by his building. His manager brings the mail because the mailbox is unreachable. He continues to live there because he has not been able to find a better alternative.

I also want to share with you a document that demonstrates the type of discriminatory attitudes people with disabilities deal with every day in their search for accessible housing. This policy was developed this summer by one of the major property management companies in Idaho. I have removed the name of the company. I know that this document does not deal with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act, however, it does demonstrate the attitude of rental housing owners and property managers.

Last August Kim McCulley and Shirleane Hays, with the local Center for Independent Living, SILC Member Jeff Garro and myself took Senator Craig's staff members Lisa Kidder and Ken Bergess on a search for an accessible apartment. We acted as if we were a person with a disability who just got hired by the Center and started looking for an apartment in close vicinity to the Center. We looked at apartment complexes that were built in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998. Someone using a wheelchair could not have gotten in the front door of any of the apartments in the complexes that we looked at because of steps or stairs. At one of the complexes you either had to go upstairs or downstairs to enter any of the apartments.

These attitudes, policies and discrimination are not the result of a lack of readily available information about the Fair Housing Act as some people want you to believe. Last week in Boise there was a training seminar on the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act and not one single builder or developer attended the training, despite the fact that they received an invitation. This lack of attendance of builders and developers has been typical at these types of workshops held over the past several years.

The name of this bill should be changed to the "Injustice in Fair Housing Enforcement Act of 1999." Having steps in front of every apartment in a complex is the same as hanging up a sign that says no people who use wheelchairs are allowed to live here.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I will stand for any questions.