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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
 
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Research
Community:
May 18, 2018
Parent involvement is associated with child academic outcomes, positive behaviors, and social skills. This qualitative study explored school-based parent involvement barriers experienced by nine low-income mothers. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from mothers participating in a community-based program offered in a large public housing neighborhood. Findings included three main barriers: (a) cultural and language differences in their children’s school, (b) undertones of racism from teachers and parents, and (c) being the primary caregiver or sole provider for their children. Although all parents experience challenges to school involvement, low-income mothers face additional obstacles preventing them from engaging in their children’s schools. This perceived lack of school involvement can lead to feelings of helplessness, shame, and stigma.

Authored by: Stephanie Lechuga-Pena and Daniel Brisson for TQR
Topics: Education, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 25, 2019

Barriers to School-Based Parent Involvement While Living in Public Housing: A Mother's Perspective

Research
May 18, 2018
Stephanie Lechuga-Pena and Daniel Brisson for TQR
Parent involvement is associated with child academic outcomes, positive behaviors, and social skills. This qualitative study explored school-based parent involvement barriers experienced by nine low-income mothers.
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Research
Community:
Nov 27, 2018
A growing body of research suggests that housing eviction is more common than previously recognized and may play an important role in the reproduction of poverty. The proportion of children affected by housing eviction, however, remains largely unknown. We estimate that one in seven children born in large U.S. cities in 1998–2000 experienced at least one eviction for nonpayment of rent or mortgage between birth and age 15. Rates of eviction were substantial across all cities and demographic groups studied, but children from disadvantaged backgrounds were most likely to experience eviction. Among those born into deep poverty, we estimate that approximately one in four were evicted by age 15. Given prior evidence that forced moves have negative consequences for children, we conclude that the high prevalence and social stratification of housing eviction are sufficient to play an important role in the reproduction of poverty and warrant greater policy attention.

Authored by: Ian Lundberg and Louis Donnelly
Topics: Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 18, 2019

A Research Note on the Prevalance of Housing Eviction Among Children Born in U.S. Cities

Research
Nov 27, 2018
Ian Lundberg and Louis Donnelly
A growing body of research suggests that housing eviction is more common than previously recognized and may play an important role in the reproduction of poverty. The proportion of children affected by housing eviction, however, remains largely unknown.
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Research
Community:
To what extent is there a mix of incomes within the LIHTC complexes? Is it realistic to expect properties without an explicit mixed-income focus to create and sustain mixed-income communities?

Authored by: Raphael Bostic, Andrew Jakabovics, Richard Voith, and Sean Zielenback
Topics: Housing, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 17, 2019

Mixed-Income LIHTC Developments in Chicago: A First Look at Their Income Characteristics and Spillover Impacts

Research
Raphael Bostic, Andrew Jakabovics, Richard Voith, and Sean Zielenback
To what extent is there a mix of incomes within the LIHTC complexes? Is it realistic to expect properties without an explicit mixed-income focus to create and sustain mixed-income communities?
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Research
Community:
Jun 18, 2018
The social, economic, and physical environments in which older adults live play a vital role in healthy, active, and engaged lives. But older adults live in unequal environments. Low-income older adults and older racial-ethnic minorities are more likely to live in neighborhoods characterized by poverty, disorder, lack of social cohesion, and pollution. At all income levels there is a greater proportion of older racial-ethnic minorities in neighborhoods with economic, social, and physical problems. Neighborhood inequality may contribute to disparities in the aging experience.

Authored by: Jennifer Ailshire and Catherine Garcia for Generations (also featured by How Housing Matters at The Urban Institute)
Topics: Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Seniors
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 11, 2019

Unequal Places: The Impacts of Socioeconomic and Race/Ethnic Differences in Neighborhoods

Research
Jun 18, 2018
Jennifer Ailshire and Catherine Garcia for Generations (also featured by How Housing Matters at The Urban Institute)
The social, economic, and physical environments in which older adults live play a vital role in healthy, active, and engaged lives. But older adults live in unequal environments.
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Research
Community:
Feb 22, 2019
Thoughtfully developed, accessible communities may boost parent engagement and student outcomes in low-income neighborhoods

Authored by: Rachel Sturtz for University of Colorado Denver
Topics: Community development, Education, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Transportation
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019
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Research
Community:
Mar 20, 2019
Launched in 2016, the Denver Supportive Housing SIB aims to support residents struggling with homelessness, substance use, and mental health problems by increasing the number of people getting and staying housed and reducing the number of days they spend in jail. The permanent supportive housing model combines a permanent housing subsidy with wraparound services, such as mental health counseling, to help people improve their stability. In Denver, MHCD and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) were selected to offer these services as part of the SIB.

Authored by: The Urban Institute
Topics: Cost effectiveness, Criminal justice, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Pacific Northwest, Partnerships, Research, Substance abuse
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019

Starting with Stability: How Denver Is Breaking the Homelessness-Jail Cycle

Research
Mar 20, 2019
The Urban Institute
Launched in 2016, the Denver Supportive Housing SIB aims to support residents struggling with homelessness, substance use, and mental health problems by increasing the number of people getting and staying housed and reducing the number of days they spend in jail.
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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.
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Research
Community:
The lead article, “Landlords: Critical Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program,” provides a basic overview of the HCV program and the role that landlords play in it; examines the implications of voucher acceptance for assisted households; surveys existing research on landlord participation; and provides examples of the types of program and initiatives that HUD, PHAs, and local governments are pursuing to increase voucher acceptance. The Research Spotlight, “HUD-Sponsored Research Sheds New Light on HCV Landlords,” by Meena Bavan and Paul Joice, discusses the findings of two recent HUD-sponsored studies, “A Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers,” and “Urban Landlords and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: A Research Report.” Finally, the In Practice article, “PHAs Encourage Landlord Participation With Incentives,” discusses initiatives in Marin County, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, that offer financial benefits, education, and streamlined administrative processes to encourage landlords to lease to voucher holders.

Authored by: HUD, Office of Policy Development and Research
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 12, 2019
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Research
Community:
Nov 22, 2018
Improved access to health insurance contributed to reducing worry and stress associated with paying rent/mortgage or purchasing meals among low-income people. Expanding health insurance access may have contributed to increasing the disposable income of low income groups.

Authored by: Shiho Kino, Koryu Sato, and Iciro Kawachi for International Journal for Equity in Health
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Health, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 7, 2019

Spillover benefit of improved access to healthcare on reducing worry about housing and meal affordability

Research
Nov 22, 2018
Shiho Kino, Koryu Sato, and Iciro Kawachi for International Journal for Equity in Health
Improved access to health insurance contributed to reducing worry and stress associated with paying rent/mortgage or purchasing meals among low-income people. Expanding health insurance access may have contributed to increasing the disposable income of low income groups.
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Research
Community:
Nov 1, 2018
In this study, researchers conduct a literature review across public health, environmental health, medical, sociology, and urban planning journals to synthesize the research on the mental health effects of rat infestations on residents living in urban neighborhoods.

Authored by: Kaylee Byers, Chelsea G. Himsworth, and Raymond Lam for The Journal of Environmental Health
Topics: Health, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Research, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 28, 2019

The Mental Health Consequences of Rat Exposure

Research
Nov 1, 2018
Kaylee Byers, Chelsea G. Himsworth, and Raymond Lam for The Journal of Environmental Health
In this study, researchers conduct a literature review across public health, environmental health, medical, sociology, and urban planning journals to synthesize the research on the mental health effects of rat infestations on residents living in urban neighborhoods.
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Research
Community:
Feb 20, 2019
As the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prioritizes programs to help households receiving rental assistance achieve economic self-sufficiency, researchers, policymakers, and advocates debate the utility of work requirements as an effective pathway toward economic self-sufficiency and the risks of offering rental assistance on a conditional basis. This study contributes additional evidence suggesting that work requirements, when implemented gradually and in context with hardship exemptions and local supports, can boost annual household income, earnings, and the adult-employment ratio* for low-income households with no work history. But work requirements have little effect on those with prior earnings.

Authored by: Han Bum Lee and Paul E. McNamara for Housing Policy Debate (How Housing Matters, Urban Institute)
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 21, 2019

Exploring the Effects of Work Requirements at a Small Illinois Housing Authority

Research
Feb 20, 2019
Han Bum Lee and Paul E. McNamara for Housing Policy Debate (How Housing Matters, Urban Institute)
As the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prioritizes programs to help households receiving rental assistance achieve economic self-sufficiency, researchers, policymakers, and advocates debate the utility of work requirements as an effective pathway toward economic self-sufficiency
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Research
Community:
What is source of income discrimination, and who are the Rhode Islanders affected by it? The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, familial status, sex, and disability. Rhode Island state law goes further, granting residents additional rights. Yet both still allow landlords to reject a prospective tenant based solely on where his or her income comes from, even when the applicant can lawfully pay the requested rent.

Authored by: SouthCoast Fair Housing
Topics: East Coast, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 19, 2019
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Research
Community:
Feb 5, 2019
Baltimore is the 30th-largest US city by population and is a study in contrasts. It has a low average income compared with other wealthy Northeast cities, has nine colleges and universities, and is a magnet for people pursuing higher education but has undergone decades of population loss. A large social sector provides important services to residents and buoys the local economy: nearly every third job in the city is with a nonprofit employer. But this also illustrates the city’s limited economic vibrancy. This mix of market and nonmarket forces makes Baltimore an important place to examine the geography of opportunity in an American city.

Authored by: The Urban Institute
Topics: Community development, East Coast, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 14, 2019

"The Black Butterfly:" Racial Segregation and Investment Patterns in Baltimore

Research
Feb 5, 2019
The Urban Institute
Baltimore is the 30th-largest US city by population and is a study in contrasts. It has a low average income compared with other wealthy Northeast cities, has nine colleges and universities, and is a magnet for people pursuing higher education but has undergone decades of population loss.
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Research
Community:
Mar 14, 2017
This brief examines the well-being of young children 20 months after staying in emergency homeless shelters with their families.

Authored by: Office of the Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Topics: Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Literacy, Low-income, Research, School-readiness
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 29, 2019
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Research
Community:
Jan 23, 2019
This research brief explores how access to rental assistance affects the self-management behaviors of people with type 2 diabetes. Through semi structured interviews with 40 low-income residents of New Haven, Connecticut, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, researchers analyzed the effects of housing stability and affordability on their self-care routines.

Authored by: Danya Keene, Mariana Henry, Carina Gormley, and Chima Ndumele for Cityscape
Topics: East Coast, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 24, 2019
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Research
Community:
Jan 16, 2019
This study explores the different ways undocumented status is associated with residential decisions and its implications on residential segregation. Drawing on 47 interviews with 20 undocumented-headed Mexican households in Dallas County, Texas, researchers examine the drivers of residential decisionmaking and illustrate the complex trade-offs undocumented households make between neighborhood quality and legal risk.

Authored by: How Housing Matters, Asad L. Asad and Eva Rosen for the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Topics: Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Racial inequalities, South
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 17, 2019
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Research
Community:
Aug 19, 2018
On the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, there is growing discussion and concern about gentrification. In almost every American city, long-time residents feel increasingly anxious that they will be priced out of their homes and communities, as growing numbers of higher-income, college-educated households opt for downtown neighborhoods. Yet when looking through the lens of fair housing, gentrification also offers a glimmer of hope, as the moves that higher-income, white households make into predominantly minority, lower-income neighborhoods are moves that help to integrate those neighborhoods, at least in the near-term. The key question is whether this integration will last and help to deliver on the promise of the Fair Housing Act to promote and further integrated living. Inverting the famous words of community organizer Saul Alinsky, this integration may only be the time between when the first white moves in and the last family of color moves out.

Authored by: Ingrid Gould Ellen and Gerard Torrats-Espinosa for NYU Furman Center
Topics: Community development, Housing, Low-income, Mobility, Racial inequalities, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 19, 2018
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Research
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
Indoor housing quality problems, which are commonly found in public housing, are associated with asthma. Prior research has found that adults living in assisted housing (either public housing or rental assistance) in Boston are more likely to report health problems, including asthma, than other Boston residents, even after controlling for socioeconomic factors.

Authored by: Amar J. Mehta, Daniel P. Dooley, John Kane, Margaret Reid, and Snehal N. Shah for American Journal of Public Health
Topics: Asthma, Health, Housing, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 13, 2018
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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
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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.
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Research
Community:
Nov 28, 2018
Public housing residents are more likely than urban residents not living in public housing to have high rates of obesity and smoking and low rates of physical activity. This study assesses whether adding environmental interventions at public housing developments affects residents’ health-related habits and body mass index.

Authored by: BMC Public Health
Topics: Exercise, Health, Housing, Low-income, Obesity, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 9, 2018
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States. For the first time since the survey has been widely administered, the 2017 YRBS optional question list included two questions pertaining to homelessness. Using this YRBS data from 17 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin), we conducted an analysis of differences in seven self-reported risk factors and health outcomes between high school students experiencing homelessness and those not experiencing homelessness. The results were striking and heartbreaking.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018

Risk and Resilience: Differences in Risk Factors and Health Outcomes Between Homeless and Non-Homeless Students in 2017 YRBS Data

Research
Nov 9, 2018
SchoolHouse Connection
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States.
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Research
Community:
Nov 14, 2018
Now that free and reduced price lunch (FRPL) status as an indicator of economic disadvantage is in decline, stakeholders are turning to replacement measures. Given the extent of socioeconomic and racial segregation in most school districts, neighborhood-level measures of economic distress seem like an appealing, easy-to-measure alternative, but this seemingly intuitive solution does a bad job of predicting FRPL rates and performs worse in places where it is more critical to get it right.

Authored by: Tomas Monarrez for The Urban Institute
Topics: Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Place-based, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 14, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 7, 2018
Does a screening requirement for homeless families seeking shelter create unintended costs? In 2012, Massachusetts passed a law requiring homeless families seeking shelter to prove that they had recently stayed somewhere not meant for human habitation. Hospital emergency department discharge paperwork can provide such proof. This study explored the trends of emergency department use for shelter by homeless youth before and after the eligibility criteria was passed into law and to measure the financial impact it had on the health care system. Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of deidentified medical records of homeless children and young adults from birth to age 21 seeking shelter at a pediatric emergency department in Boston from 12 months before the eligibility rule to four years after the rule went into effect. They analyzed the number of visits, length of stay, insurance claims, and hospital charges before and after the policy change. Researchers found a significant increase in emergency department use for homelessness after the policy change. The results indicate that policymakers should consider the potential unintended health care costs of shelter eligibility policies and identify housing strategies that can prevent emergency department visits by families experiencing homelessness.

Authored by: American Journal of Public Health
Topics: Cost effectiveness, East Coast, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 8, 2018
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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