Housing and Independent Living A partnership that makes sense leads to a step in the right direction for many individuals with disabilities and their goals of living in the community. Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collaborated to make available $40 million to local housing agencies to assist 5,300 families. As we see way too frequently available, affordable and accessible housing for people with disabilities is a major issue for those developing an independent living plan. Housing is an absolute top priority of many PCIL consumers seeking to live and thrive independently in the community. Even though the housing voucher increase simply scratches the surface, it can be viewed as a positive outcome indicator that grew from Olmstead and Money Follows the Person. Good news doesn’t seem to come very often these days, but now many Americans with disabilities will have additional housing assistance that will help them get out of institutions and/or remain in the community. NJ citizens need to hear more good housing news and not the threats to eliminate the Coalition of Affordable Housing (COAH).