Community Practice Lab (CPL) Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley and Housing Fellow Leiha Edmonds presented a national webinar for the Administration of Community Living (ACL). The webinar, titled “Expanding Home Accessibility Services: Strategies for Sustaining Cross-Sector Collaborations,” was presented for the ACL’s Housing and Services Resource Center.
A branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the ACL seeks to maximize the well-being, independence, and health of older adults and people with disabilities throughout the lifespan. The ACL manages the Housing and Services Resource Center (HSRC), which connects the housing sector and community living networks by improving access to affordable, accessible housing and the critical services that make community living possible.
In the national webinar, Lavalley and Edmonds offered best practices and resources for home accessibility partnerships, drawing on the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition (OCHPC) as a model.
The OCHPC is a collaborative of organizations that provide home repairs and modifications to residents of Orange County, NC. The OCHPC seeks to increase communication and collaboration among organizations to decrease burden on clients and service seekers, particularly older adults, people of color, low-income residents, and people with disabilities. The CPL has supported the coordination and administration of the OCHPC since its founding in 2017.
“The coalition has evolved significantly over the years, and we continue to learn how to best serve a huge number of clients while also trying to balance the necessary conversations around equity, access, and urgency. We were excited to share this knowledge and experience on a national stage so others can similarly leverage collaboration to support affordable and accessible housing experiences,” said Lavalley. Lavalley is an assistant professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lavalley also directs UNC’s Partnerships in Aging Program.
The webinar detailed how participants across the country can use home modification action guides to build and sustain cross-sector partnerships, as well as integrate collaborations into existing organizational operations. The webinar also guided participants in evaluating program impact and using data to make the case for increased funding and expansion of services.
“The Home Preservation Coalition continues to expand how it supports home repairs in the county as well as how it uses data to improve service delivery and coalition collaboration. The webinar was a great opportunity to share what we’ve learned with other municipalities and coalitions working to address similar challenges in their communities,” said Edmonds.
To accompany the webinar, the ACL also produced an action guide, “Partnering to Expand Access to Home Modifications, Repairs, and Weatherization for Community Living.” This national resource features the OCHPC as a model of home accessibility collaboration.
Below, view a selection of slides from the webinar featuring the OCHPC:
