Equal, normalized and included? Experiences with buying your own home for the mentally disabled

Abstract

This project examines the practices of six Norwegian municipalities, which in a va-riety of ways are trying to enable mentally disabled residents to build or buy their own homes. The survey has confirmed some previous findings: the financing model operat-ed by the Norwegian State Housing Bank makes it possible for many mentally disabled persons to purchase homes on the ordinary housing market. However, even though private developers are without exception friendly, this appears to be a complicated and resource-demanding process. The cases show how municipalities can enable better processes in different ways. Leaving home can be a major upheaval both for young mentally disabled people and their parents, entailing changes in the young person’s re-sponsibilities, personal economy, and sense of independence. The overall objective is achieving inclusivity. Some of the homes are quite ordinary and are located among other similar homes, but our findings indicate that to date, residents experience little or no positive interaction with their other neighbors. Natural meeting places and commu-nal areas dedicated to entire neighborhoods occur only rarely in new housing projects. If we are to meet the objectives of inclusivity and participation, we have to expand our focus and not only look at the homes but also at the neighborhood in which the resi-dents shall be included.