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Abstract
In this article, we examine people labelled/with intellectual disabilities’ experiences of their current homes and what they imagine or desire for their home in the future. Definitions of home in Canadian and Ontario policy are based on neoliberal and ableist notions of the dwelling and leave out other important elements of home. In this article, we will use quotes and artwork from a broader study to argue for a broadening of the definition of housing for people so labelled, in line with position statements from Inclusion Canada and People First of Canada (PFC), as well as the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). These findings draw on the importance of social connections, community resources, and accessibility in shaping the home and also highlight the felt limitations of the current system. By understanding what these limitations are, it is possible to understand what needs to change for the future to fit with the needs of people labelled/with intellectual disabilities.
In recent decades, access to housing in community settings has been a priority for people labelled/with intellectual disabilities in many developed countries. While community living is recognized as an important goal, it has often been harder to achieve in practice given a shortage of appropriate housing choices and difficulties accessing supports. More work is also needed to ensure that views and preferences of people labelled/with intellectual disabilities inform the development of new housing options. In this article, we employ a qualitative, arts-informed methodology to examine the housing experiences and aspirations of a small group of people labelled/with intellectual disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Our analysis focuses on three related elements of participants’ experience of housing and home: the immediate dwelling and living arrangements, the supportive relationships that sustain people in their housing, and the social and environmental amenities within the neighbourhood. We then discuss the broader significance of this research with respect to housing provision, highlighting issues of choice, support, and connection.
Disclosure statement
The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Notes
1 We use the term ‘people labelled/with intellectual disabilities’ to acknowledge the varied language choices made by people within this community. This term encompasses the ‘people first’ language preferred by some, and the ‘labelled person’ language used by others to signal the imposed nature of diagnostic categories (Spagnuolo, Citation2016).
2 ‘Commitment’ signals that funds have been allocated but construction has yet to begin. In 2022, Canada’s Auditor General found that the agencies charged with implementing the NHS ‘had failed to collect sufficient data about their programs, which are designed to connect the most vulnerable people with homes’ (Tasker, Citation2022). Future research is needed to investigate the extent to which benefits promised by the NHS have materialized for people labelled/with intellectual disabilities.
3 The term ‘group home’ captures a diverse array of residential arrangements (Clement & Bigby, Citation2010). In Ontario, group homes are defined under the Development Services Act as homes providing staff-supported residential accommodation in a group setting for persons with a developmental disability. The maximum size of a group home varies across municipalities. In Toronto, it is 10 people, while in Kingston it is seven.
5 Lily was living with a dissociative disorder in addition to being labelled with intellectual disability.
6 Lear is referring to ‘Community Living’ organizations that support people labelled/with intellectual disabilities to find housing.
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Notes on contributors
Sabine O’Donnell
Miss Sabine O’Donnell earned a Hons. B.A. at McMaster University and she is a recent M.A. graduate from McMaster University. Her masters thesis research focused on the experiences of people labelled/with intellectual disability in their current homes and also what they want for their future home.
Ann Fudge Schormans
Dr. Ann Fudge Schormans is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University. She received her Master of Social Work from McMaster, and her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Toronto. Many years of social work practice working with people living with disabilities, combined with ongoing activist work, informs her teaching and research. Employing inclusive, co-researcher methodologies and knowledge production, along with arts-informed methods, her research focuses on issues identified by people with disabilities as being important to their lives. Recently, completed and current projects include explorations into the use of city space by people labeled with intellectual disabilities; the intersection of intellectual disability, education, employment, and homelessness; parenting experiences and aspirations of people with intellectual disabilities; and friendships and social inclusion of youth with intellectual disabilities. A project exploring masculinity and disability, and another working with survivors of Ontario’s institutions, are also underway.
Robert Wilton
Dr. Robert Wilton earned a Hons. B.A. at the University of Hull (UK) and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His research is broadly concerned with the social geographies of exclusion. He is interested in (1) the ways that some groups within society are excluded from valued environments, (2) the ways in which this exclusion reproduces the marginal or problem status of such groups, and (3) the capacity of such groups to contest their exclusion. Much of his research has focused specifically on the experiences of people with disabilities. His doctoral work, for example, examined the origins of community opposition to housing for disabled persons. More recently, his work has focused on three topics. He is completing SSHRC-funded research on the exclusion of disabled persons from spaces of paid employment, and the strategies used by individuals to overcome this exclusion. He is working with a coalition of people living with mental illness to document the negative impacts of poverty and poor housing on quality of life and social participation.