The doormat outside Kim Wages’ house reads, “It’s good to be home!”

Pictures of friends decorate the walls and plaques with motivational sayings like, “This girl can!” are spread throughout the house. There’s a shelf to display all her Special Olympics trophies and she adores the wallpaper in the kitchen because it reminds her of “The Pioneer Woman.”

Kim said she loves to sit outside on her back patio and watch the birds and neighborhood cats.But she’s most excited to show off her bedroom with its fairy lights and butterfly decorations — and the bathroom and laundry room that are right beside it.

She’s only lived in the house for two months. But having a safe, clean home that meets her needs has made a huge difference — that’s easily noticed by the people who have helped care for her for many years.

“You can tell she is just enjoying life more,” said Regan Eveland, CEO of Center for Disability Services. “We are very excited about this change in life for her!”

Eveland’s agency, often referred to as CDS, has been supporting central Ohio residents with developmental disabilities for more than 70 years.

That support has looked different over the years as Ohio’s developmental disabilities field has evolved. This year, CDS has supported 56 Licking County residents by providing in-home care and an adult day center as well as services that help with transportation and financial management.

CDS also runs a housing corporation called Red Heart Homes that rents homes to people with disabilities and accepts vouchers from the Licking Metropolitan Housing Authority to help pay the rent.

Over the years, Eveland and her team have seen the demand for safe, accessible housing explode, while the availability of these options has stagnated.

Currently, the Licking County Board of DD has identified at least 39 people with disabilities who have expressed a need to live in the community, said Angie Finck, Chief Operations Officer at LCBDD. Some are people who have a place to live, but want to move because they are living in homes that aren’t meeting their needs any more.

Kim was one of those people, whose living situation was actively making her life harder.

The place she was living in was very small and the cramped environment made it difficult to use the bathroom, shower or access her washer and dryer. This caused issues with cleanliness and made health problems worse.

Her neighborhood was loud and Kim didn’t feel safe walking outside. Aside from time at the CDS adult day center, she never left the house, said Amanda Amyx, CDS’ Marketing and Supported Living Director.

CDS has worked with Kim for many years and they treat each other like family, Amyx said. It was heartbreaking to see her feeling limited and stressed by her living arrangement. She was so afraid of falling in the shower that she wanted help with all personal care.

These and many other stories inspired CDS to take a stand and get more involved in solving some of the housing needs they were seeing, Eveland said.

“We started thinking, ‘Can we find a home for Kim to live a happier life?’” she said.

With the creation of Red Heart Homes, CDS works with LCBDD to access funds through the Community Capital Assistance (CCA) program to build, purchase and renovate homes.

These funds, administered by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), can be used to develop housing for people with developmental disabilities to give them more choices of where they can live, said Aaron Lichtenauer, Capital Projects Administrator at DODD’s Housing and Capital Projects Office.

CCA provides funding based on local home values for renovations, home purchases and construction.

“The idea is, we provide this funding so that folks can live as independently as they can,” Lichtenauer said. “If we can help make a place a little more conducive to the people that are living there, that’s what we want to do.”

Housing corporations can apply for these funds with the support of the local county board and a contract in place that requires the corporation to use the property for the purpose of housing people with developmental disabilities for a term of no less than fifteen years.

LCBDD sees the need for more accessible, affordable housing every day and is happy to support these efforts. Using CCA funds is really a win-win for the housing corporation, the county board, the development of the local community, and, most importantly, people receiving services, Finck said.

“We are very solutions-oriented, so we were excited to partner with Red Heart Homes in their goal of creating more housing options in our community,” she said. “They are thinking outside the box and people we support will benefit.”

After purchasing the home where Kim is living in Newark, Red Heart Homes’ contractor converted one of the bedrooms into a large bathroom with a walk-in shower and a laundry room.

The agency is in the process of purchasing several more homes and is building a new home on King Avenue in Newark, using land from the Licking County Land Bank.

Once that home is completed, several people will be able to leave an older Red Heart Homes’ property that is not as accessible. That home will likely be demolished and rebuilt as several one-bedroom apartments.

While some of the homes are currently being rented by people supported by CDS, they are available to anyone with a developmental disability looking for a place to live. LCBDD will help inform people of the housing options that might be available and connect them with Red Heart Homes, if they are interested in learning more — like anyone else interested in talking to a landlord about a rental.

“We are so grateful for CCA (funds) and the collaboration with Red Heart Homes and LCBDD. It takes all of us to make this happen,” Eveland said. “The momentum we have going, it’s so exciting to be part of it.”

Not only does having people in homes that meet their needs improve their physical and mental health but it also helps DD service providers be more efficient with their resources, Eveland said.

Since Kim has lived in her new home, she has become almost completely independent while bathing and doesn’t require as much support overnight.

She sleeps better and has more time and energy to leave the house and do fun things. She’s even started walking around her neighborhood.

“She is so happy,” Eveland said. “I feel grateful for the relationships we’ve built and the right people in the right seats (to make this project happen,)” she said. “It’s a group effort and the difference it’s making is huge!”