The following article was written by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on August 2, 2018.

Jeffrey Hudale, 46, has autism and is looking to live independently from his family for the first time in his life.

A Pittsburgh native, Mr. Hudale has experience moving around, having lived with his mother, grandma and aunt since his parents got divorced when he was 7.

He has a degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a technician job at BNY Mellon, but struggles with social and independent living skills.

After 16 years living in Penn Hills with his aunt and cousin, his sights are set on a new home at Krause Commons in Squirrel Hill.

New opportunity afloat in Squirrel Hill

Construction on the highly anticipated affordable housing development is nearing completion. Residential applications, to be selected in a first-come, first-served lottery, will be accepted starting Aug. 6. Half of the development’s units will give preference to applicants with intellectual or mental health disabilities, while the remainder will be open to any individuals falling below a $31,920 yearly income threshold, or couples falling below $36,480. Rent breakdowns will be determined by income level.

The six-story building is co-owned by Jewish Residential Services and Action Housing, nonprofits focused on providing housing for people with different needs. In addition to apartment units, the building will house office space for Jewish Residential Services as well as its new Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse. Action Housing, which is also the developer and manager of the complex, hopes to complete construction in November and have all residents moved in by the end of the year.

It’s located on Murray Avenue at the site of the former Poli restaurant, a Squirrel Hill staple for nearly 85 years where Mr. Hudale’s now-deceased parents had their wedding reception. Poli’s has been vacant since 2005. The site is at “the gateway to Squirrel Hill...a transit-friendly area,” said Lena Andrews, a senior development officer for Action Housing.

As the application opening nears, Mr. Hudale’s excitement and anxiety about living independently grows. “I hope to find some stability and maybe someday get married,” he said, explaining his desire to live near a loving family, meet new people and have a chance to enhance his life and social skills.

Still, he faces stiff competition for a spot at Krause Commons.

Action Housing is expecting about 500 applications for the 33-unit building, said Ms. Andrews, who is managing the complex for the nonprofit.

This gap between need and opportunity is representative of a nationwide problem involving housing for people with special needs.

Special needs housing: challenges and concerns

“The demand far exceeds the supply in the foreseeable future,” said Elliot Frank, 68, of Franklin Park, the president of the Autism Housing Development Corp. “Finding affordable housing is difficult for everybody, but even harder for those who are differently abled.”

Housing is one of the major areas of concern for families touched by special needs, added Heather Sedlacko, the director of programs for people with disabilities at United Way of Southwestern PA. As part of United Way’s 21 and Able initiative — which works to solve the unmet service needs of special needs individuals transitioning into adulthood — Ms. Sedlacko has been listening to the worries of parents with special needs children for years.

In addition to supply, parents are concerned that the locations aren’t convenient and that navigating through housing opportunities and applications can be confusing and complicated, she said.

In 2014, United Way conducted a housing survey that interviewed about 300 people with disabilities in Allegheny County. Eighty-six percent of respondents reported the desire or need to move to a new home, and 57 percent said they needed to live in their current community.

In response, United Way launched the Allegheny County Housing Connector, a free service for people with disabilities who are seeking housing options. Now in its third year, the program attempts to match individuals with disabilities to living opportunities that suit their needs.

“Every family is seeking different opportunities,” said Ms. Sedlacko, emphasizing that many parents must find support services and staff for their children once the proper housing situation is established. In Allegheny County, 83 percent of individuals with disabilities need support to live in their homes and 41 percent require more than 30 hours of support per week, according to the United Way survey.

Because full community inclusion is different for everyone, a variety of housing options are needed, said Ms. Sedlacko, citing local projects like Krause Commons and Heidelberg’s Dave Wright Apartments as “part of the solution.”

Dave Wright Apartments: the first of its kind

In Heidelberg, the Dave Wright Apartment Building, which opened in December 2016, is similar in concept to Krause Commons and may serve as an example of what’s to come in Squirrel Hill as construction nears completion.

A joint venture between Action Housing and the Autism Housing Development Corp, the Dave Wright Apartments offer affordable living to people with, and without, special needs —21 of the 42 units have preference for individuals on the autism spectrum. All residents must have yearly earnings below 60 percent of the area median income when they apply.

“It’s the first low-income housing tax credit development in the country to integrate those on the autism spectrum with those not on the spectrum,” said Mr. Frank, the Autism Housing Development Corporation president who had the idea for the project. The building was inspired by the work of Randy Lewis, former senior vice president of Walgreens, who pushed for the hiring of differently abled individuals and their integration into the workforce, he said.

“Our goal was to show that people on the autism spectrum can live independently, successfully and happily with their neurotypical neighbors,” said Mr. Frank, who described minimal resident turnover and the maintenance of the 50/50 split between those with and without autism since the building’s opening 1½ years ago. “It’s been as successful as we could have hoped.”

When the project began, some people became concerned about congregating too many people with a disability in one location, acknowledged Mr. Frank, who said he didn’t share this fear. “There was pushback from the disability community.”

Not all support the design of the Dave Wright Apartments and Krause Commons.

“These models just haven’t worked historically,” said Guy Caruso, the western coordinator for the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, referring to projects that group larger numbers of people with disabilities together. They start with the best intentions but then become problematic, he said. “There’s a short-term gain, but a long-term dilemma that society will come to believe that segregation is necessary for people with disabilities.”

“When people with different disabilities live together, they often take on some of the same characteristics of the people they live with,” which can encourage the modeling of some inappropriate behaviors, said Mr. Caruso, who has a Ph.D. in vocational rehabilitation counseling.

Ideally, when special needs individuals live in their home communities they can be more accepted and integrated, he said. “I want people to live where they want to live in as individual a fashion as possible.”

Catherine Markle, who provides support to residents at the Dave Wright Apartments, has not seen these concerns come to fruition at the building.

“The ideology behind this complex is to be an inclusive community within the building and within the community at large,” said Ms. Markle, who has arranged potluck dinners, movie nights, nutrition classes and “What is autism” conversations for residents.

“A lot of people want to be here, and I can’t blame them,” said Elise Mote, 25, a resident of the Dave Wright Apartments who is on the autism spectrum. Ms. Mote had to move from her last home in Squirrel Hill after rent got too expensive. She’s now in charge of the buildings’ gardening club and works 5 minutes from her job at Shop N’ Save.

“My fears of living here were pretty unfounded,” added Matt McGrath, 40, another resident, explaining that he’d never lived in an apartment before. Mr. McGrath said he’d like to see more of a community come together within the building, noting difficulties in getting an often shy and anxious tenant population to come to events.

Giovanni Montagnino, 28, said he hopes to remain at the Dave Wright Apartments for a long time, describing its convenience to grocery stores, public transport and his church. He enjoys playing board games and watching the Steelers with his apartment neighbors.

A dream deferred

Although some new options have emerged in the county, the struggle to find proper housing for people with special needs persists. And for the aging parents of children with disabilities, concerns mount daily.

“I know I’m not going to be here forever,” said Carol Tabas, 63, of Squirrel Hill, who has a son with special needs. “I want to make sure he has a life of his own…It’s a very scary situation to be in as a parent.”

Her son, Chet Stofman, 34, has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. He uses a wheelchair and is nonverbal. He’s “significantly handicapped and mentally delayed,” and has 24/7 caregivers, Ms. Tabas said. The two live together at her Squirrel Hill home.

The plan was that he would live independently when his three siblings went off to college, she said. And he did for a short time.

When he was 22, Mr. Stofman moved into a medium-sized facility for people with special needs, but it did not provide him with the continuity of care he required, causing his mother to pull him out after a year.

“It was devastating,” said Ms. Tabas. “He was frustrated…and went way downhill medically and emotionally.” Since then, Mr. Stofman has lived at home, and Ms. Tabas has made inclusive, community-integrated living for people with special needs her life’s mission. She is now the co-chair of United Way’s 21 and Able Initiative and the leader of the program’s housing committee.

In recent years, Ms. Tabas has tried to bring families and developers together to create innovative housing solutions in the Pittsburgh area. The dream is to build a small community of children, families and seniors with and without disabilities, who want to get to know one another and help each other out, she said. After two “close attempts,” she has begun work on a third.

Moving forward, Ms. Tabas plans on keeping her son close to home and maintains hope that he’ll be able to continue to develop an inclusive life. She’s considered buying two homes situated next to each other — one with the 24/7 support Mr. Stofman requires — so the two can lead their own lives while maintaining close proximity. She envisions finding her son a housemate without special needs, who could help keep an eye on him and perhaps become a friend.

“I’ll always think in terms of what his life will be like in the future when I’m not around,” she said, “and whether I can plan this far in advance.”