Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets prescribed by a licensed mental health professional for those with disabling mental illness. While emotional support animals are commonly cats and dogs, any animal can serve in this capacity, such as a bird, rabbit, or reptile. Caring for the animal benefits a patient’s mental health.

All participants in a survey by the Assistance Dog Center (TARSQ) and CertaPet reported that having an emotional support dog improved their quality of life. ESAs increased feelings of security, independence, and energy, reduced stress, and enhanced sleep. They provided motivation, structure, joy, and companionship and fostered social interactions. These animals also helped participants reduce panic attacks and handle work obligations.

People with disabilities in the labor force face higher unemployment rates, work fewer hours, earn lower incomes, and accumulate less wealth than those without a disability. According to 2022 data, the unemployment rate for American workers with disabilities is twice that of people without disabilities.

Individuals with disabilities also can encounter several barriers when looking for employment. Workplaces can be inaccessible and lack assistive tools or technologies as well as systems, services, and policies to accommodate employees with disabilities. They may also experience stigma at work.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently started to focus on finding ways to support family caregivers by assisting them with resources to maintain their health, well-being, and financial security while they act as caregivers. As part of this, it has announced the implementation of a 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.

HHS estimates that approximately 53 million people provide a broad range of assistance to their aging, health-compromised, or disabled loved ones each year. Millions more open their homes to grandparents as well as children who cannot live with their parents.

Supported decision-making can be an alternative to unnecessary guardianships. It allows disabled people to get assistance with decisions while retaining autonomy. In supported decision-making, trusted persons can advise an individual with a disability, while the individual ultimately retains the final decision-making power about their own care and life.

To qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a federal program that provides people with disabilities a monthly stipend, individuals must conform to very strict income and asset limits. Often, SSI beneficiaries who could hold a job opt not to because they worry about losing their benefits if they earn too much. While this is a valid concern, a program known as PASS offers these individuals the opportunity to pursue their professional ambitions while continuing to receive SSI payment.

Many individuals with disabilities want housing that offers them more integration in the community and a greater sense of independence than institutional settings. Yet they have been waiting since 2014 for federal officials to enforce the rules that such community-based housing services are supposed to meet. Early next year, the federal standards defining what qualifies as community housing will finally be imposed on states.