Project Spotlight

Acessible Housing Registry
Virginia Housing Development Authority
601 South Belvidere Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Project Manager: Bill Fuller/Gail Braham
Award Amount: $100,000
Project Duration: July 1, 2003 - December 31, 2004

VHDA Launches Website to Help Virginians Find Accessible, Affordable Housing

On November 16, 2004, VHDA released the Access Virginia website. Officially unveiled at the Governor's Housing Conference, www.accessva.org is a comprehensive collection of information to help people find accessible apartments, learn more about accessibility requirements and Universal Design.

Access Virginia serves as an online housing registry featuring an apartment finder that searches a database managed by the National Apartment Association. The registry lists both subsidized and market rate units.

The website offers a variety of other information ranging from home plans to accessible kitchen appliances and also helps individuals locate specific information about building products designed for people with disabilities-providing an invaluable resource for those who are planning to rent an apartment, build a new home or renovate their existing home.

• Made possible through a grant from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, Access Virginia has been in development at VHDA for the past year. Some key associates involved with launching the project include Housing Initiatives Officer Bill Fuller, Grant Project Coordinator Gail Braham and Business Systems Analyst Greg Bowers. This team will proceed to work regularly with VHDA Asset Managers to fill accessible unit vacancies in VHDA-financed multifamily developments. They will also maintain relationships with individual property managers to enable them in managing and updating their own data online.
• Although just shy of its inauguration, plans to continuously change and improve this resource are already moving forward. During the next year, Access Virginia will add more rental listings as well as increase its index of accessible housing resource links. Reversely, concentrated efforts will be made to place the Access Virginia link on several other websites, including those belonging to local and state government entities as well as VHDA business partners. Access Virginia will also work with Centers for Independent Living to create public awareness of accessibility issues.
• For more information, please visit the Access Virginia website or by clicking "Related Links" on VHDA.com. Gail Braham (ext. 5512) and Bill Fuller (ext. 5754) are available to answer questions and receive feedback regarding the Access Virginia project.

Previous Project Spotlights

All of Us CD (April 2005)
Hope House Foundation
801 Boush St. Ste 302 Norfolk, VA 23510
Project Manager: Paula Traverse-Charlton
Award Amount: $20,217
Time Period: 4/15/03-4/14/04

Several years ago, the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities created an Innovative Grant Program to allow for the funding of creative and original ideas that fell outside the scope of the Board’s competitive grant award process.

This program, while limited in funding, is designed to fund initiatives that will, through their originality, help create systems change and improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.

Last year, the Board provided a grant to the Hope House Foundation in Norfolk, Virginia to develop an interactive CD ROM designed to support people with disabilities, their families, policymakers, business leaders and service providers in their challenge of advocating for and achieving full inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in their communities.

The CD ROM was based on the documentary, All of Us, produced by the Hope House Foundation, the School of Communication and the Arts of Regent University, and Third Sector Media of Virginia. The All of Us documentary won a number of awards, including the 2004 Media Award from the American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR). The CD ROM is an educational and development tool for a variety of audiences that is universal in its application to diverse audiences. This product will enable communities through out Virginia to feature real life stories of individuals with disabilities, as well as reflect the value of inclusion by local community leaders’ personal testimony.

The Board is very proud to have supported the creation and distribution of the All of US CD ROM and congratulates Hope House Foundation in the success of this project and the work that it continues to do on behalf of people with developmental disabilities.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the CD ROM, please contact Third Sector Media at 757-583-3555 or service@thirdsectormedia.com or contact Hope House Foundation at 757-625-6161 or www.hope-house.org.
More information on the Board’s other exciting projects and activities, including our Innovative Grant program, can be found on our website.