Our Community Living Advocate in Santa Barbara has worked with a consumer since 2017. He has been homeless since that time, sometimes sleeping on a couch at a friend’s apartment, sometimes sleeping in his car or just on the street. In 2017 we helped him sign up for all the waiting lists for subsidized housing that he was eligible for. We explained that the wait is typically several years long. We always let him know when a new opportunity for affordable housing came up. Finally in March of 2021 the consumer had reached the top of the City of Santa Barbara Housing Authority section 8 waiting list and received a voucher. This was a major milestone but the housing market in Santa Barbara is currently extremely tight, meaning there are very few apartments available that are under the current housing standard of $2015 for a 1-bedroom apartment. The ACC made multiple housing referrals from rental lists. Then the consumer on his own found a landlord who was willing to accept his voucher. Unfortunately, the Housing Authority turned it down because it did not meet their criteria. By this point, two months had passed and the Housing Authority gave him a 2-month extension. The ACC made more housing referrals. Then the consumer received a call that there was an opening at the Bradley Studios, a property built by the Housing Authority. The consumer was familiar with the property and was more than happy to accept the offer. He moved into the apartment in late June and is now more or less settled. He finally has stability in his life and can take care of several pressing health issues that require him to have secure housing for recovery. It has made a huge difference in his life.
Voices & Stories A Housing Consumer Success Story
By Petra Lowen, Community Living Advocate • Posted on August 30, 2021
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[date] => 2021-02-03
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[title] => Involving family in emergency planning reduces anxiety
[author] => Anonymous
[article] => How has the Disaster Access and Resources Program changed your life?
It’s made me realize I could be better prepared. Even with past training it’s good to update and change things. It’s important to start if you don’t have a plan especially with everything going on right now. If an emergency happens I want to make sure I have everything I need. I’m very appreciative of the plan. Once we sit down with our family members and friends we want them to all sit down and disaster plan too.
How do you feel about how ACC has helped you prepare for disasters and emergencies? How did you feel before?
I feel more than I expected. I didn’t know you offered these types of things. I thought I would have to do research but it was easy to do it with one person and one agency. Especially for someone with anxiety issues researching multiple agencies can be overwhelming for somebody.
I was not ready but now I am.
-Dominique, Consumer of Lauren Utterback, Independent Living Advocate
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[date] => 2025-12-21
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[title] => Note to Readers About the Word “Ableism”
[author] => Jacob Lesner-Buxton
[article] =>
Note to readers about the word “ableism”. In short, the word ableism means discrimination against people with disabilities.
An example of ableism is a two-story office building without an elevator. The designers of the building consciously or unconsciously assume that people with mobility issues wouldn’t need to access the top floor of the building. Their ableist assumptions caused them not to build an elevator.
Another example of ableism happened at Cal-State East Bay earlier this year. A group of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities enrolled in a certificate program were denied a chance to participate in the school's commencement ceremony.
While the school claimed that only those who were receiving degrees were allowed to cross the stage, activists provided examples of others who received certificates who were allowed to take part in past ceremonies. They suggest that the school administration was acting on an ableist assumption that students with disabilities weren’t supposed to graduate from college. Despite public pressure, the school administration still wouldn’t let the students cross the stage.
We hope that through reading these articles, you begin to notice ableism in society and look for ways to advocate against ableism by becoming an ally to people with disabilities.
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[id] => 24
[date] => 2021-02-24
[status] => Active
[new] =>
[title] => Connection to Technology is Essential
[author] => Anonymous
[article] =>
)
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