Making a statement on supportive housing
People with disabilities live all around us.
And often, in the suburbs, they live with great difficulty, thanks to a dearth of support from a state mired in budget calamity and a federal government that wants to cut Medicaid, a primary source of funding for services that help people with disabilities live independently.
In that arena, a recent vote in Arlington Heights is a small sign of hope for people who have limited mobility, developmental disabilities or mental illnesses and their families.
The village board's unanimous approval Monday of a 16-unit supportive housing building could help open the door for more of these much-needed homes in the suburbs, which have a dismaying record of rejecting such proposals, especially those intended for people being treated for mental disorders.
Arlington Heights' two-story rental building is planned by Housing Opportunity Development Corp. and UP Development on Boeger Drive, near Arlington Heights and Dundee roads. Each two-bedroom apartment will house up to four people, possibly including families, roommates or people with live-in assistants. As Daily Herald Staff Writer Chris Placek reported, the building will include a common room and offices for case workers and service providers from community-based organizations.
UP Development also is behind Palatine's Spruce Village, which was approved last year for a site near Rand and Hicks roads. On-site services for residents are expected to be provided by the Kenneth Young Center, Alexian Center for Mental Health and Volunteers of America.
The victories did not come easily. The two towns - like others in the Northwest suburbs - both rejected versions in previous years after concerns about zoning, location and project size and, from some residents, misconceptions and prejudices about the people who would live there.
This time, Arlington Heights trustees were on board from the start and only a few residents registered objections.
"There's no question there's a great need for these services in Arlington Heights and surrounding communities," Mayor Tom Hayes said.
With first Palatine and now Arlington Heights taking positive action, we hope the soon-to-be-built housing developments will become models that encourage more towns to move in the same direction.
In the meantime, the new homes will change the lives of those who need just a little bit of help to live independently.