Welcome to Housing Is, a hub for generating effective programs and sharing innovative ideas.

Sign Up or Sign In
 

Housing Is Working Group 2023-2024 Calendar

Join the Housing Is Working Group to discuss special topics related to cross-sector initiatives and programmatic considerations particularly focused on the intersections of housing, health, and education.

This year’s public webinars cover topics such as the mobility asthma project, trauma-informed approaches to housing, resident-focused racial equity work, out-of-school time, and how FCC grantees are supprting voucher holders.

View Calendar
 

Elements of a Successful Partnership

With generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, CLPHA developed an in-depth report on regional housing-education collaborations taking place at housing authorities across the Pacific-Northwest.

Read the Multimedia Report
 
0
0
0
0
Research
Community:
Jan 1, 2019
Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and infants. As health care providers increase their emphasis on social determinants of health, it is important to understand how unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy. We linked data about emergency shelter enrollees with Massachusetts Medicaid claims for the period January 1, 2008–June 30, 2015 to compare health care use and pregnancy complications for 9,124 women who used emergency shelter with those for 8,757 similar women who did not. Rates of mental illness and substance use disorders were significantly higher among homeless women. Adjusted odds of having nine pregnancy complications were also significantly higher for homeless women and remained substantially unchanged after we adjusted for behavioral health disorders.

Authored by: Robin Clark, Linda Weinreb, Julie Flahive, and Robert Seifert for Health Affairs
Topics: Child welfare, Depression, Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Pre-natal, Research, Substance abuse
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 26, 2019

Homelessness Contributes To Pregnancy Complications

Research
Jan 1, 2019
Robin Clark, Linda Weinreb, Julie Flahive, and Robert Seifert for Health Affairs
Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and infants. As health care providers increase their emphasis on social determinants of health, it is important to understand how unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy.
0
0
0
0
News Article
Community:
Oct 1, 2018
When children get sick from poor living conditions inside their rundown apartments, they miss school. And when 95 percent of students of one school live in the same apartment complex—where evictions are routine and black mold is rampant—classrooms are often left empty.

Authored by: Jamie Hwang for the American Bar Association Journal
Topics: Attendance, Child welfare, Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

Atlanta pro bono proram expands to resolve elementary school students' housing issues

News Article
Oct 1, 2018
Jamie Hwang for the American Bar Association Journal
When children get sick from poor living conditions inside their rundown apartments, they miss school. And when 95 percent of students of one school live in the same apartment complex—where evictions are routine and black mold is rampant—classrooms are often left empty.
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Education Leads Home’s State Partnerships on Student Homelessness Project brings together policymakers and practitioners from with the goal of overcoming child and youth homelessness through education. Through the partnership, each state is committed to researching and implementing replicable best practices that address the most urgent needs of their unique homeless student populations. The State Partnerships on Student Homelessness Project is a nonpartisan effort to develop best practices that can be replicated by communities and states nationwide. In its inaugural year of the project, Education Leads Home (ELH) awarded six states – California, Kentucky, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington – small grants through a competitive process. ELH will provide ongoing technical assistance.

Authored by: Education Leads Home
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 5, 2019
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Feb 25, 2019
The 2019 state legislative season is in full swing, and SchoolHouse Connection is hard at work on 12 bills in 7 states (IN, KY, ME, NV, TN, TX, UT). We’re also supporting legislative advocates in 4 additional states (AZ, CA, MD, WA), and anticipate additional bills to be filed in LA, MO, NJ, and NC.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 28, 2019

A Dozen Bills and Counting to Help Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Publication
Feb 25, 2019
SchoolHouse Connection
The 2019 state legislative season is in full swing, and SchoolHouse Connection is hard at work on 12 bills in 7 states (IN, KY, ME, NV, TN, TX, UT). We’re also supporting legislative advocates in 4 additional states (AZ, CA, MD, WA), and anticipate additional bills to be filed in LA, MO, NJ, and NC.
0
0
0
0
News Article
Community:
Feb 21, 2019
Homelessness among students enrolled in schools from kindergarten through 12th grade has increased 70 percent over the last decade.

Authored by: Lauren Camera for U.S. News and World Report
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 25, 2019
0
0
0
0
Podcast
Community:
Feb 14, 2019
John King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Secretary King is one of the most prominent voices on the connections between housing policy and education policy, particularly with respect to pervasive socioeconomic and racial segregation. We sat down with Secretary King in Los Angeles to discuss the state of modern-day school and housing segregation, why he prioritized integration while in office, promising practices on both the education and housing fronts, and why education advocates must also be housing advocates. “As citizens, we need to be engaged on the issues that affect the kids and families that we serve,” said Secretary King. “We have to be engaged on housing…We have a responsibility as educators to be engaged across a range of issues.”

Authored by: Opportunity Starts at Home
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 19, 2019

Opportunity Starts at Home Interview with Former U.S. Secretary of Education John King

Podcast
Feb 14, 2019
Opportunity Starts at Home
John King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Secretary King is one of the most prominent voices on the connections between housing policy and education policy, particularly with respect to pervasive socioeconomic and racial segregation.
0
0
0
0
Interactive
Community:
More tan 1.3 million homeless students K-12 have been identified in America's public schools.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection, Civic Enterprises, America's Promise Alliance, and Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 14, 2019
0
0
0
0
Policy Brief
Community:
Jan 30, 2019
NLIHC stands ready to work with all members of Congress to seize the opportunity to address the full scope of affordable housing challenges for families with the greatest needs. In the memorandum below, we provide our recommendations on steps Congress can take—whether through an infrastructure spending package, the appropriations process, housing finance reform, or other legislative avenues—to make the critical investments in the affordable housing our nation needs to help the economy, our communities, children and families thrive.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Criminal justice, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Racial inequalities, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 30, 2019
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Jan 9, 2019
In this post, we hope to inspire others working in PreK-12 educational settings to examine rates of chronic absenteeism among the students they serve. We define chronic absenteeism and share three graphic displays of chronic absence data from our school district, the Washoe County School District located in Reno, NV.

Authored by: Tori Vohland and Jennifer Harris for Schoolhouse Connection
Topics: Attendance, Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 24, 2019
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Jan 24, 2019
Affordable housing campaigns are not new, of course, but what is unprecedented and transformative about Opportunity Starts at Home is the scope and diversity of the partners that are joining forces to advocate for more robust and equitable federal housing policies. The campaign is advised by a Steering Committee including leading national organizations representing a wide range of interests that are working shoulder-to-shoulder to solve the affordable housing crisis.

Authored by: Opportunity Starts at Home
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, CLPHA, Community development, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Safety, Seniors, Stability, Substance abuse, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 24, 2019

Within Reach: Ambitious Federal Solutions to Meet the Housing Needs of the Most Vulnerable People

Publication
Jan 24, 2019
Opportunity Starts at Home
Affordable housing campaigns are not new, of course, but what is unprecedented and transformative about Opportunity Starts at Home is the scope and diversity of the partners that are joining forces to advocate for more robust and equitable federal housing policies.
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Quality affordable housing can be a “vaccine” which prevents long-term health problems and promotes healthy, productive lives. When a family’s housing situation is unaffordable and unstable, chances to lead a healthy life dwindle rapidly.

Authored by: Opportunity Starts at Home
Topics: Child welfare, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Seniors, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 18, 2019
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Teachers know that children learn better and are more likely to graduate when they live in a stable, affordable home.

Authored by: Opportunity Starts at Home
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Education, Housing, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 18, 2019
0
0
0
0
News Article
Community:
Dec 27, 2018
Basic necessities like food and water have been restored since the October afternoon when the storm pummeled Panama City. But a new crisis has emerged over a need even more primal — housing.

Authored by: Kathryn Varn for Tampa Bay Times
Topics: Child welfare, Health, Housing, Low-income, Safety, South
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 7, 2019
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Jan 2, 2019
Housing quality, instability, and unaffordability threaten the well-being of millions of children across the nation. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community where they live. As home prices increase, the gap between rents and incomes continues to widen, and nearly half of today’s renters are cost burdened. Child welfare professionals, educators, and pediatricians can strengthen their work by understanding the central importance of housing as a determinant of wide-ranging outcomes for the country’s youngest generation.

Authored by: Veronica Gaitan for How Housing Matters
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Health, Housing, Research, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 7, 2019
0
0
0
0
Report
Community:
Jan 1, 2019
Environmental health services, from asthma home visiting programs to lead testing, can help protect children from the dangerous environmental exposures they encounter every day. But the problem for parents and caregivers is accessing such services, a new analysis from APHA’s Center for Public Health Policy shows.

Authored by: Julia Haskins for The Nation's Health
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Lead, Low-income, Place-based, Preventative care, Research, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 7, 2019
0
0
0
0
Report
Community:
May 1, 2018
Housing and health systems need to work together. Public housing authorities (PHAs) are significant providers of housing to those in need, offering the health sector scale and expertise. Little was known about how PHAs worked with the health sector writ large. With a national survey, we found that PHAs across the country are engaged in a wide range of partnerships with different health organizations that address various target populations and health priorities. Barriers to housing-health collaboration, such as funding and staffing capacity, can be overcome with cross-system partnerships that seek to address these needs.

Authored by: CLPHA and PAHRC
Topics: Child welfare, Funding, Health, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Partnerships, Preventative care, Research, Seniors, Smoke-free
Shared by Housing Is on Dec 19, 2018

Health Starts at Home: A National Snapshot of Public Housing Authorities' Health Partnerships

Report
May 1, 2018
CLPHA and PAHRC
Housing and health systems need to work together. Public housing authorities (PHAs) are significant providers of housing to those in need, offering the health sector scale and expertise. Little was known about how PHAs worked with the health sector writ large.
0
0
0
0
Webinar
Community:
Dec 17, 2018
Webinar slide deck that provides a brief overview of FUP, building blocks of successful FUP voucher implementation, facilitated panel on increasing impact and enhancing FUP operations, and other opportunities and resources.

Authored by: CSH: 1 Roof and CLPHA
Topics: Child welfare, CLPHA, Foster care, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Preventative care, Safety, Supportive housing, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 18, 2018
0
0
0
0
News Article
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
Lily, a character introduced seven years ago to address child hunger, returns. This time her family does not have a place to live.

Authored by: Nikita Stewart for The New York Times
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
0
0
0
0
Interactive
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
Using the story of Lily, a resilient, hopeful Muppet whose family is experiencing homelessness, Sesame Street developed a set of free, bilingual resources for children and families experiencing homelessness and the providers who serve them. Many different kinds of providers serve children experiencing homelessness, including school district homeless liaisons, early childhood programs, and homeless assistance and housing programs. To help these providers quickly and effectively leverage Sesame Street’s resources in the context of their specific work, SchoolHouse Connection has produced tip sheets organized by provider role.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
0
0
0
0
Research
Community:
Nov 19, 2018
Nearly 115,000 students in New York City schools experienced homelessness during the 2017–18 school year, according to new data released by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) last month. As reported by the New York Times, that figure represents 1 in 10 New York City public and charter school students. Our look at the data on noncharter public school students shows that even that alarming share hides the pervasiveness of student homelessness in some communities.

Authored by: Patrick Spauster for Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, East Coast, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
0
0
0
0
Research
Community:
Dec 5, 2018
How does the quality of where we live affect our children’s development? The impact of housing and neighborhood quality on physical health has long been studied in the public health field, but studies that aim to assess those same impacts on mental health are less common. This study examined the relationship between the physical quality of housing and neighborhoods and their interactive effect on the mental health and motivation of children from elementary school through young adulthood.

Authored by: Journal of Environmental Psychology
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Racial inequalities, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 6, 2018

How Housing and Neighborhood Quality Affect Children's Mental Health

Research
Dec 5, 2018
Journal of Environmental Psychology
How does the quality of where we live affect our children’s development? The impact of housing and neighborhood quality on physical health has long been studied in the public health field, but studies that aim to assess those same impacts on mental health are less common.
0
0
0
0
Policy Brief
Community:
Nov 29, 2018
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is giving state and local housing agencies more funds to help them carry out a promising new policy to enable families with Housing Choice Vouchers to move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods. Agencies must apply by December 31 to receive the funds.

Authored by: Will Fischer for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Child welfare, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018

New Funds Will Help Housing Agencies Expand Opportunity for Families with Vouchers

Policy Brief
Nov 29, 2018
Will Fischer for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is giving state and local housing agencies more funds to help them carry out a promising new policy to enable families with Housing Choice Vouchers to move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods.
0
0
0
0
Publication
Community:
Nov 28, 2018
Housing instability among families and children can be detrimental to child welfare, health, economic, and other outcomes. Policymakers and service providers in these fields should consider weaving housing into their approaches. Treating instability at its roots can relieve the trade-offs and stress that emerge when no decent housing is affordable. Evidence indicates that affordable housing can improve a range of outcomes for families and—in combination with short-term or long-term services—help providers tackle complex challenges head-on.

Authored by: Aaron Shroyer for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Stability, Supportive housing
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
0
0
0
0
Policy Brief
Community:
Mar 26, 2018
This two-page fact sheet summarizes existing data on young children who are homeless and their families, including the impact of homelessness on health, development, early learning, and well-being.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
0
0
0
0
Research
Community:
Nov 1, 2018
Are families prioritizing their housing payments by jeopardizing their health and well-being, missing utility payments, skipping meals, or failing to keep up with medical needs or medical bills? And are renters less able than homeowners to weather a financial emergency, such as an unexpected medical expense? Our research suggests this may be the case.

Authored by: Corianne Scally and Dulce Gonzalez for The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, Food insecurity, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 7, 2018