In Development
LIVING WITH DIGNITY REQUIRES MORE THAN SURVIVAL.
For persons living with significant disabilities, ordinary household costs can become disability-related costs.
Electricity may support cooling, medical equipment, medication refrigeration or hygiene.
Transportation may become necessary because public options are inaccessible.
Food assistance may be of little practical use if the approved vendor cannot be reached.
Housing may require accessibility modifications or additional support.
The Ability Foundation’s Essential Living Support programs are being developed around one principle:
Support must work in real life.
It is not enough for a benefit to exist on paper.
It must be accessible, adequate and practical for the person it is intended to support.
Support responds to the needs of the person living with the disability. Another household member being employed does not automatically rule anyone out.
Important notice
These programs are not currently open for applications unless a program below is marked Open for Applications. The Ability Support Fund is being developed in phases. Assistance is available only through programs specifically marked Open for Applications. No submission guarantees approval or funding.
The programs
Essential Utility Support Program
In DevelopmentTo assist persons living with disabilities whose disability or health-related circumstances create significant or unavoidable electricity or water needs that are difficult to meet from their available personal resources.
Support being developed
Electricity · Water · Electricity arrears · Water arrears · Disability-related increased consumption · Medical equipment electricity · Cooling / ventilation · Medication refrigeration · Laundry / hygiene needs · Other essential utility need
For some people, electricity is not simply a household expense.
A person who is bedridden, has limited mobility, depends on powered medical or mobility equipment, requires medication refrigeration, needs continuous ventilation or cooling, or experiences increased laundry and hygiene requirements may have electricity needs that cannot reasonably be rationed in the same way as ordinary discretionary consumption.
The Ability Foundation’s Essential Utility Support Program is being developed to address these realities.
Food & Nutrition Support Program
In DevelopmentTo provide temporary or structured food assistance where disability, limited earning capacity or disability-related costs materially reduce a person’s ability to maintain adequate food security.
Support being developed
Grocery allowance · Food voucher · Direct grocery purchase · Special dietary support · Emergency food assistance
Housing & Rent Support Program
In DevelopmentTo assist eligible persons with disabilities whose housing security is threatened by limited earning capacity, disability-related expenses or accessibility requirements.
Support being developed
Rent contribution · Rent arrears · Emergency housing support · Accessible housing modification contribution · Moving cost related to accessibility · Other essential housing support
Accessible Transportation Support Program
PlannedTo assist persons whose disability creates transportation costs or prevents access to essential services, healthcare, employment or community life.
Support being developed
Medical transportation · Wheelchair-accessible transport · Taxi / private transport where public transport is inaccessible · Employment transport · Education transport · Essential errands · Program-related transportation
Essential Household Support Program
In DevelopmentTo assist persons living with significant disabilities with basic household costs where their own earning capacity and disability-related expenses create substantial hardship.
Support being developed
Essential household items · Hygiene supplies · Bedding · Laundry-related needs · Personal care supplies · Basic household contribution · Other disability-related necessities
How support is decided
- A person reviews every application. Nothing is approved or declined automatically.
- Reviewers look at your own income, benefits, disability-related expenses, ability to work, care needs, existing support, accessibility barriers and urgency.
- They also ask whether other help you receive is adequate for the need, not just whether it exists.
- If you choose, relevant parts of your Ability Needs Index can help a reviewer understand your situation. It never decides the outcome.
- An advocacy case can be linked where you face a disconnection, benefit denial or access problem. It is never required.
Fund a program
Corporations and community partners will be able to fund a specific program. This is what a sponsor can expect to understand. No member is ever identified.
ESSENTIAL UTILITIES FUND
- What the program solves
- Disability-related electricity and water needs — powered medical or mobility equipment, cooling and ventilation, medication refrigeration, laundry and hygiene — that cannot be rationed like discretionary use.
- Who it serves
- Persons living with disabilities whose own resources do not cover utility costs created or increased by their disability.
- What funding pays for
- Current utility bills and arrears, and disability-related increases in consumption, normally paid to the utility provider.
FOOD & NUTRITION FUND
- What the program solves
- Food insecurity created by disability, limited earning capacity or disability-related costs.
- Who it serves
- Persons living with disabilities who cannot maintain adequate food security from their own resources.
- What funding pays for
- Grocery allowances, vouchers, direct grocery purchases, documented special dietary support and emergency food assistance, arranged so they can actually be reached and used.
HOUSING STABILITY FUND
- What the program solves
- Loss of housing, or unsafe and inaccessible housing, caused by limited earning capacity, disability-related costs or accessibility requirements.
- Who it serves
- Persons living with disabilities — renters, owners and those in family households — whose housing security is at risk.
- What funding pays for
- Rent contributions and arrears, emergency housing support, accessibility modification contributions and accessibility-related moving costs.
ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION FUND
- What the program solves
- Disability-related transport costs and inaccessible public transport that block access to healthcare, work, education and community life.
- Who it serves
- Persons living with disabilities for whom ordinary public transport is unavailable or inaccessible.
- What funding pays for
- Medical, employment, education and essential-errand travel, including wheelchair-accessible and private transport where public options are inaccessible.
ESSENTIAL HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT FUND
- What the program solves
- Basic household costs that become hardship when disability limits earning capacity and increases everyday costs.
- Who it serves
- Persons living with significant disabilities whose own resources do not cover essential household necessities.
- What funding pays for
- Essential household items, hygiene and personal-care supplies, bedding, laundry-related needs and other disability-related necessities.
- How applications are reviewed
- Every application is reviewed by a trained person against published program criteria. There is no automated decision, score or household-income cut-off, and the Ability Needs Index never approves or declines support by itself.
- How outcomes are tracked
- After assistance, the Foundation records whether the support prevented disconnection, restored service, improved food security, prevented housing loss, improved access to transport or reduced household pressure — including where it only partly addressed the need or did not resolve it. Members can give their own feedback.
- How privacy is protected
- Sponsors never see member identities, applications or case details. Information is used for review only, and sharing of the Ability Support Summary is the member’s choice for each application.
- How sponsor reporting works
- Sponsors receive aggregated reporting: numbers of approved cases, amounts awarded, outcomes and the administrative share. Reporting commitments are agreed before funding begins.
Funding targets are not published until approved by the Foundation.