DENNIS – Voters in Dennis last night approved a plan to develop an affordable housing community for adults with autism and other disabilities.
The town will lease just under five acres of land off of Hokum Rock Road to the group FORWARD, which stands for Friends or Relatives with Autism Related Disabilities.
“Eighty percent of adults with autism live at home with few supports and a very unclear plan for the future when their parents are no longer able to take care of them,” said Dennis resident Kathy Ohman, who has been at the forefront of the effort.
Ohman added this community could help many families who don’t have a transition plan for their loved one, “you have middle aged people with disabilities who have always lived at home transitioning to the outside world. That’s a crisis. That’s an emergency.”
The group plans to build four, four-bedroom houses on the land. The development will count towards the town’s goal to have 10 percent affordable housing.
