Before Maryland Inclusive Housing became the statewide leader in helping Marylanders with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) secure inclusive, affordable and accessible housing, it started from humble beginnings.
The roots of MIH grew out of DDA’s 2015 Transformation Plan, which aimed to transform policies and funding processes to create a flexible, person-centered, family-oriented system of supports that Marylanders can use to lead rich, full lives. For residential services, this meant independent supported living. It also meant addressing the new (at the time) community settings rule. The settings rule required that Medicaid funded DD services be delivered in settings that did not have the effect of socially isolating people.
DDA created a tiered standards committee in 2016 with the goal of not only meeting the new Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) settings rule, but to go beyond the federal requirements to better the lives of Marylanders with IDD. Tim Wiens, Executive Director of Jubilee at the time, was a member of this committee, and chaired the residential subcommittee.
In January of 2018, DDA Director Bernie Simons named Wiens a Co- Chair the DDA Supported Living Advisory Committee, along with Judy Pattik, DDA Regional Director. Also serving on this committee were former or current MIH board members; Ande Kolp of Arc Maryland, Clarissa Mitchell of Empowering People with Intellectual Challenges (EPIC), Joyce Sims of Resource Connections, Rachel London of the Maryland DD Council and parent advocate Rich Kolm.
In December of 2018, the committee presented its recommendations to DDA, and they were accepted. DDA asked the committee to continue to meet to implement these recommendations. The following October, articles of incorporation were filed to create MIH.
Two months later, a Board of Directors was formed and met at Wiens’s home in Silver Spring. The Board hired Wiens to be MIH’s first Executive Director.
Wiens started work in his role in January of 2020, in essence, opening the doors of the new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Since then, he has increased the staff to nine members, including a Housing Support Services (HSS) team of four. That team has helped find affordable housing for nearly 50 Marylanders with IDD, who are living richer, fuller lives.
Stay tuned for more pieces on the impact of MIH since 2020…
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