Dear editor,

Thank you for elevating the challenges of south siders with disabilities in the March 3 issue of the Herald. I hope that this can bring more people into the conversation about the challenges folks with disabilities experience on the south side. In addition to those with physical disabilities, we should expand this advocacy to include another forgotten group when it comes to housing- adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

According to the Department of Human Services through a 2023 Freedom of Information Act request, in the three zip codes comprising Kenwood, Hyde Park and Woodlawn with a population close to 150,000, there are only 43 rooms for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in group homes (known as a community integrated living arrangements or CILAs). Only two of those homes have capacity for 3 or more residents. These larger capacity homes are the ones that typically serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who need more care. If we consider that 1-2% of adults have an intellectual disability, this means over 1500 members of our community must leave to find housing.

Our south side brothers, sisters, children, and parents with developmental disabilities must leave our community to find housing. Their bonds with family are strained as their ability to integrate into community life are severely limited. Many of these citizens, if they are lucky enough to get off the waiting list and receive a CILA placement, must move hours away to live in far suburbs or downstate.

Many suburban communities invest in and provide tax incentives for group homes and work centers in order to keep these important members of their community close to family and integrated into public life. As we seek to elect a new mayor and aldermen in our wards, I ask the candidates to commit to increasing south side access to housing for adults with physical and developmental disabilities. Additionally, I ask my neighbors to hold these candidates to their word through their votes and advocacy.

Adam Parrott-Sheffer