Like everywhere on Cape Cod affordable housing is non-existent, and especially for people with developmental disabilities who are often living with aging parents with little or no plans for what happens when they are unable to take care of them; 81 percent of adults with autism and other developmental disabilities live at home with aging parents.
— Kathy Ohman, Founder and President, FORWARD
New Supportive Housing Begins Construction on Cape Cod
An estimated 81 percent of adults with autism and other developmental disabilities live with their aging parents; non-profit FORWARD is on track to add 8 additional units of housing to meet this housing gap.
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07 October, 2025 – DENNIS, MA – This week nonprofit organization FORWARD kicked off the second phase of its Dennis housing development, designed for adults with autism and related developmental disabilities.
An estimated 81 percent of adults with autism and other developmental disabilities live with their aging parents – and many have few options as those parent age beyond caretaking capacity. FORWARD has been working to build housing to address this gap since 2014.
What happens to adults with developmental disabilities?
Founder and president Kathy Ohman, who herself has two young adults with autism, knows the pressures of finding suitable housing first hand. The Cape, she said, lacks affordable housing of any type – but when families add in the support requirements for disabled adults, the challenge grows.
“Like everywhere on Cape Cod affordable housing is non-existent, and especially for people with developmental disabilities who are often living with aging parents with little or no plans for what happens when they are unable to take care of them” she said.
Has FORWARD been successful?
But through a combination of land donation from the Town of Dennis, along with federal, state, and local funds, and additional fundraising, FORWARD has proven it can fill this housing gap and create a successful model.
Phase 1 of the project completed in 2020, and now includes eight apartments that both meet the needs of limited movement, vision, hearing, cognitive ability, behavioral difficulties, perception issues and other autism spectrum disorder needs as well as integrating support services.
What happens in Phase 2?
Phase 2, which the group anticipates will open in the spring of 2026, brings an additional eight units of housing. The ground breaking celebrated the start of building, but construction is already underway and the outline of the new apartments stretch across the lot, offering a story of hope.
Why does supportive housing matter?
State Sen. Julian Cyr, says it takes a combination of local, state, and federal support to tackle the regional challenge of what is referred to as “supportive housing,” aka housing that meets specific health needs, including access to services, and that is also affordable.
“If you’re someone living with a disability, you want to be able to have some independence, you want to be able to have a life, but you also want to be close to home,” he said, adding that the supportive housing structure can be a game changer for families.
“Cape Codders who live with disabilities — who are living with autism or are on the spectrum — are able to stay on the Cape and be here and be a part of this community, be close to their family, their relatives, their friends and that’s why these projects are really crucial.”
For more information:
- FORWARD’s website
- World Health Organization Autism Fact Sheet
