Something is changing in the way this country thinks about housing for neurodivergent and disabled adults.
This week, Disability Scoop reported on the quiet but growing emergence of neuroinclusive neighborhoods across the United States, communities where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) live in their own homes, alongside neurotypical neighbors who have chosen to be part of something intentional. As of today, fewer than 100 of these communities exist nationwide.
One hundred. In a country of 335 million people.
That number tells you everything about the scale of the gap, and everything about why NeuroHomes exists.
What Neuroinclusive Housing Looks Like
Two very different projects made national news this week and together they show that the field is beginning to move in multiple directions at once.
The first are neuroinclusive homeownership neighborhoods taking shape in suburban Michigan and New Jersey, covered by Disability Scoop. These are groundbreaking efforts by parent-led nonprofits, developers, and public funders who refused to accept that the only options for their children were group homes, adult foster care, or a waiting list that never moves. They are built on the premise that people with disabilities deserve to own their own homes, to know their neighbors, to have stability that doesn’t evaporate when a landlord decides to sell. Fewer than 100 such communities exist in the entire country.
The second is Joppa, a Des Moines nonprofit that just cleared its final regulatory hurdles to build a 54-unit tiny home village for chronically homeless people, with rents starting at $300 a month. A converted 19th-century schoolhouse will serve as a community hub offering free healthcare, a gym, and on-site jobs. It is deeply affordable, permanently available, and built around the understanding that stable housing and wraparound support belong together.
These are two different models serving different populations. But they share the same core conviction: that people who have been pushed to the margins of the housing market deserve something permanent, something dignified, and something designed with their actual lives in mind.
The funding for these projects is layered and hard-won: county housing trust funds, state housing finance agencies, community development financial institutions, banks, foundations, and private equity, all assembled piece by piece by people who believed it was worth doing.
That is exactly the work NeuroHomes is doing right now, in rural southwest Washington.
Why Rural Matters
The communities making national news are in Oakland County, Michigan, one of the wealthiest counties in the state. They are near major metro areas, well-connected to service providers, and supported by robust regional housing infrastructure.
We are building in Wahkiakum County, Washington. Population: roughly 4,000.
That is not a limitation. It is the point.
Rural neurodivergent adults are among the most underserved people in this country. They face the same housing crisis as their urban and suburban peers, without the density of services, the nonprofit infrastructure, or the philanthropic attention that urban disability housing attracts.
Many are living with aging parents who are running out of time and options. Many are on waiting lists that stretch years into the future. Many are, quietly, without anywhere to go.
NeuroHomes is developing permanent supportive housing in Wahkiakum County, WA and Clatsop County, OR, communities where neurodivergent adults can live with stability, dignity, and real belonging. We are building the rural model that the field doesn’t yet have a blueprint for, because someone has to go first.
We Are in the Middle of Building This
Right now, NeuroHomes Foundation and NeuroHomes Communities, Inc. are:
Preparing applications for Washington State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund awards, with Phase 1A capital needs of approximately $4.3–4.8 million
Building partnerships with disability organizations, clinical providers, and county agencies across both states
Developing a clinical partnership with NeuroBloom Center to integrate mental health and behavioral support into our model
Cultivating relationships with CDFIs, foundations, and impact lenders to assemble the layered funding stack this work requires
We are early. We are small. And we are doing exactly what every one of those Michigan, New Jersey, and Des Moines projects did before their groundbreaking: showing up every day, building trust, and refusing to believe that rural neurodivergent adults don’t deserve what everyone else deserves.
What You Can Do
This movement grows because people decide to be part of it.
If you are a neurodivergent adult or the family member of one, we want to hear from you. Tell us what you need. Join our waitlist and help us understand the demand in our region.
If you are a funder, partner, or housing professional, we are actively building our capital stack and our coalition. We would welcome a conversation.
If you believe this work matters, please consider supporting NeuroHomes today. Every dollar goes toward making permanent, stable, community-rooted housing real for neurodivergent adults in rural Washington and Oregon.
Donate via Mightycause | Donate via NeuroHomes.org
To learn more or get in touch: info@neurohomes.org
NeuroHomes Foundation (EIN 41-4963918) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. NeuroHomes Communities, Inc. (EIN 41-5022619) is a Washington State Social Purpose Corporation.
Together, we are building permanent supportive housing for neurodivergent adults in rural Wahkiakum County, WA and Clatsop County, OR.
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