As a recipient of State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Funds, the City of Orlando must use at least 20% of their allocation to serve persons with special needs as defined in Section 420.0004, Florida Statutes. The first priority of these special needs funds must be to use them for persons with developmental disabilities as defined in s. 393.063, Florida Statutes.

The City of Orlando received a proposal from Crystal Lake Supportive Environment, Inc., d/b/a ATTAIN, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that provides habilitative services in community residential homes to men, women and children (ages 10-17) with intellectual disabilities, autism and similar developmental disabilities.  ATTAIN has been in operation for 25 years and currently operates 10 homes in Orange County, serving 59 individuals with developmental disabilities.

ATTAIN is requesting $57,459.92 to rehabilitate a group home located at 5114 Barnegat Point Road.  Rehabilitation will include the addition of two bedrooms and one full bath.  The new bedrooms will be offered to two of the current residents. There will be no increase in the number of residents living in the facility. With the addition of the two bedrooms, each of the six residents will have their own bedroom. Offering each resident their own room increases opportunities for their privacy and dignified care by staff or self-care, as well as additional opportunities to improved quality of their life.

On 1/15/15 the Housing Review Committee reviewed ATTAIN’s request and voted to recommend City Council approve ATTAIN’s request for funding. The Florida Housing Finance Corp (FHFC). FHFC has confirmed that this rehab activity is eligible for funding under the SHIP Program and can be applied to the 20% set-aside requirement for serving persons with developmental disabilities.