Asset Ownership Workshop - NAMI 2007 Convention

Hello!  I’m back from San Diego and would like to post an entry about a workshop I attended while there: “Asset Ownership for People with Disabilities.”  The statistics are sobering yet changeable, because options exist for people with schizophrenia to save money and build wealth.  Here, I’ll talk about the reality and give solutions.

Fifty-four percent of people with disabilities live in households with incomes below $15,000.  Fifty-eight percent are asset poor and only 10 percent own a home.  Luckily, asset ownership is possible via savings vehicles such as Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and home buying resources such as community land trusts (CLTs).  For others, co-operative or traditional housing could be available with loans geared towards people with psychiatric disabilities, such as New York State’s Office of Mental Health (OMH) Home of Your Own (HOYO) program that gives people with a psychiatric disability who are working a 4% mortgage rate.

Financial assets—such as cash savings, stocks, bonds, home, business and real estate equity build individual’s and families’ long-term security, thus enabling them to weather crises, and make key investments in education, home, car or assistive technology, or plan for retirement, among other goals.  More than this, owning assets matters because it allows people with disabilities to feel optimistic and included in society.

I’ll focus here on IDAs and CLTs specifically, and touch on co-operative housing and other resources.  An Individual Development Account, or IDA, allows people with low incomes to set up a special savings account where their money is matched with donations.  For every dollar you save in an IDA, you can receive another dollar or more.  To open this type of account, you’ll need to attend financial education classes.  Match dollars come from many different places, such as government agencies, private companies, churches or local charities

More than 250 IDA programs exist in the United States, and their terms and conditions vary.  Most specify a maximum household income level, most often a percentage of the federal poverty guidelines (usually between 100% and 200%) or the area median income (usually between 65% and 85%).  Most programs offer a 2:1 match rate, so for each $1 you deposit in your IDA, $2 in matching funds will be added to your savings.  For each dollar you save, match rates can be more or less than $2.  Account holders use their savings to buy a home, pay for education or training, or start a small business.  Some IDA programs allow other uses, such as home repairs or computer or automobile purchases.

For detailed information, log on to www.cfed.org and click on the Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) link in the center of the page.  Next you can click on the FAQ link, or search the IDA directory for programs in your state.