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Housing Is Working Group 2024-2025 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 child welfare and housing, leveraging Medicaid resources for housing services, out-of-school time, and digital equity in a post-ACP world. 

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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Publication
Community:
Oct 13, 2022
Is the future of philanthropy a more collaborative one? The leaders of Funders for Housing and Opportunity share lessons to help the field learn—and evolve—in real time.

Authored by: Jeanne Fekade-Sellassie & Jennifer Angarita for the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Oct 20, 2022
Three social change leaders discuss how to move the narrative about housing away from a focus on individual actions toward values, racial justice, and the well-being of all.

Authored by: Glenn Harris, Michael McAfee, & Dorian Warren for the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Oct 27, 2022
To solve the housing crisis, funders must take collective action to simultaneously solve the climate crisis and prioritize those who have had the least to do with creating either.

Authored by: Dana Bourland for the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Advocacy, Environmental Resiliency/Climate Change, Green, Housing, Lead, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Nov 10, 2022
Two housing justice advocates discuss different approaches to policy change and the importance of centering the voices of people most affected by systemic barriers and inequities in housing.

Authored by: Amy Gillman, Liz Ryan Murray, & Mike Koprowski for the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Advocacy, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Nov 17, 2022
Lessons for funders and social change leaders in search of the best ways to collaborate across sectors to end homelessness.

Authored by: Seyron Foo, Raji Hunjan, & Amy Kleine for the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Supportive housing, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Dec 1, 2022
Local initiatives are breaking new ground to make access to housing and opportunity more affordable and equitable and to increase the resources dedicated to housing justice.

Authored by: Mercedeh Mortazavi & Alana Greer for the Sandford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Partnerships, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jan 3, 2023
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Publication
Community:
Nov 3, 2022
In the newly released Stanford Social Innovation Review article, co-authors Jessica Mulcahy, Success Measures at NeighborWorks America; Vedette R. Gavin, Verge Impact Partners; and Stacey Barbas and Kate McLaughlin, The Kresge Foundation discuss their collaborative work on a three-year developmental evaluation to learn about the strategies and approaches grantees are using to advance health equity through housing. This article is part of the series “Collaboration for Housing Justice” sponsored by Funders for Housing and Opportunity to mark their fifth anniversary.

Authored by: Stacey Barbas, Kate McLaughlin, Jessica Mulcahy & Vedette R. Gavin, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Topics: Community development, Health, Housing, Place-based, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Camille Anoll-Hunter on Dec 15, 2022
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Report
Community:
Oct 17, 2022
Using data from the 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP, which has monthly income amounts for 2017) and the National Bureau of Economic Research TAXSIM model, we estimate how accurately data from the first quarter of the year can predict credit amounts a person will ultimately qualify for based on their annual characteristics. Low-income people are more likely than higher-income people to experience financial difficulties, so we focus our analysis on families with children at some point in the year with incomes below 200 percent of (twice) the federal poverty level (FPL). If credits can be accurately predicted using data from the first quarter of the year, it may present a path forward toward advance payments of credits.

Authored by: Elaine Maag, Elizabeth Peters, Nikhita Airi, Karen Smith for the URBAN INSTITUTE
Topics: Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Sandra Ware on Dec 1, 2022

How Well Can Limited Data Predict Annual Tax Credits: The Importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and An Option for Advancing Credits

Report
Oct 17, 2022
Elaine Maag, Elizabeth Peters, Nikhita Airi, Karen Smith for the URBAN INSTITUTE
Using data from the 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP, which has monthly income amounts for 2017) and the National Bureau of Economic Research TAXSIM model, we estimate how accurately data from the first quarter of the year can predict credit amounts a person will ultimately qual
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Case study
Community:
Nov 29, 2022
Many older LGBTQ+/SGL people who pioneered coming out of the closet are now forced to go back in. As their housing needs and preferences change with age, prejudice is still rampant. And under the U.S. Fair Housing Act, gender identity and sexual orientation are not explicitly protected classes where housing is concerned. Creating appropriate housing for LGBTQ+/SGL seniors must be informed by the life experiences of older people in this community, which often include family rejection, mistreatment, and even violence. This means increasing our cultural competence—from the terminology used, to the design and management of housing developments that consider past traumas. This case study presents innovative housing projects as well as guidance for developers on how to meet some of the unique needs of this particular population.

Authored by: Stephanie Firestone and Julia Glassman for AARP Equity by Design- Principles in Action
Topics: Community development, Housing, Seniors
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 29, 2022
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Communications
Community:
Nov 29, 2022
Social media tool kit to promote and advertise the December 6th Virtual Spotlight – LGBTQ+/SGL* – Affirming Housing for Older People event.

Authored by: Equity by Design- Principles in Action
Topics: Community development, Housing, Seniors
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 29, 2022
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Policy Brief
Community:
Nov 29, 2022
Successful diabetes care for vulnerable populations demands a multi-prong approach, deploying direct health interventions, medications, and support from a range of community resources to address the social determinants, which impact diabetes. This brief will highlight, through case studies and program descriptions, the important role of non-clinical staff in both the health center and housing setting to support individuals and families struggling to prevent and keep diabetes conditions under control.

Authored by: CSH
Topics: Health, Housing
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 29, 2022

A Call for Reinforcements in Diabetes Care: Maximizing the Role of Non-Clinical Staff and Partners

Policy Brief
Nov 29, 2022
CSH
Successful diabetes care for vulnerable populations demands a multi-prong approach, deploying direct health interventions, medications, and support from a range of community resources to address the social determinants, which impact diabetes.
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Report
Community:
Nov 17, 2022
Homelessness is a traumatic experience with long-term consequences, particularly for infants and toddlers in their most critical stages of development. Yet homelessness among young children is hidden. Lack of shelter, fear of having children removed from parental custody, and restrictive eligibility criteria for housing programs mean that most young children experiencing homelessness stay in places that are not easily identified. To this end, SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan analyzed data from twenty states that have formed broad-based coalitions to move prenatal-to-3 priorities forward. This report describes the prevalence of homelessness among infants and toddlers in these twenty states; gaps in access to early learning programs; and recommendations for increasing enrollment and support.

Authored by: School House Connection
Topics: Child welfare, COVID-19, Early childhood, Education, Foster care, Homelessness, Legislation & Policy, Pre-natal, Racial inequalities, Research, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 17, 2022
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Report
Community:
Nov 4, 2022
The 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care defined a need for coordinated primary care leadership at the federal level. n a new Milbank Memorial Fund report, the Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care’s Robert L. Phillips, Jr., Milbank Memorial Fund’s Christopher F. Koller, and Covered California’s Alice Hm Chen expand on NASEM recommendations and call for congressional support to establish an Office of Primary Care at the federal level to coordinate existing primary care services and provide oversight to initiatives focused on workforce training, behavioral health integration, clinical comprehensiveness, and payment. According to the authors, creating a robust investment in federal leadership in primary health care that includes a triad of a US Health and Human Services Secretary’s Council on Primary Care, a Primary Care Advisory Committee, and an Office of Primary Care will be essential to addressing the country’s four most important public health challenges: health inequities, pandemic response and resilience, the opioid epidemic, and access to mental health services.

Authored by: Robert L. Phillips Jr, Christopher F. Koller, and Alice Hm Chen for The Milbank Memorial Fund
Topics: COVID-19, Health, Low-income, Mental health, Substance abuse, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 8, 2022

The Path to Coordinated Federal Leadership to Strengthen Primary Health Care

Report
Nov 4, 2022
Robert L. Phillips Jr, Christopher F. Koller, and Alice Hm Chen for The Milbank Memorial Fund
The 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care defined a need for coordinated primary care leadership at the federal level.
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Webinar
Community:
Nov 8, 2022
On October 13, 2022, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra extended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, effective through January 11, 2023. While when the Public Health Emergency will end is still unknown, when it does, state Medicaid and CHIP plans will begin reassessing the eligibility of all recipients to confirm they still meet the eligibility requirements (“redetermination”). At the Housing Is Working Group webinar on November 8, 2022, we heard from UnitedHealthcare about the important actions needed to ensure individuals retain their Medicaid enrollment and how PHA staff can support residents in this process. This presentation is plan agnostic and the goal is to ensure Americans retain their Medicaid coverage regardless of the healthcare plan that serves them. This webinar is open to all interested attendees!

Authored by: Housing Is Working Group
Topics: Health, Housing Is Working Group, Medicaid / Medicare
Shared by Camille Anoll-Hunter on Nov 8, 2022
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Policy Brief
Community:
Nov 3, 2022
The series highlights the promising work of the EHS-CCPs to date, particularly related to pandemic recovery and stabilization, workforce support, and expanding access to holistic support for children and families, especially mental health support. The briefs highlight the many roles that states can play in establishing and expanding their own EHS-CCPs, including by using Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five funding and aligning CCDF quality funding with supports needed to establish and grow the Early Head Start model. The EHS-CCPs take many forms in states and communities across the country, but all provide resources to child care partners to deliver high-quality services aligned with the holistic Early Head Start model. This includes ensuring access to early learning for infants and toddlers; vision, hearing and developmental screenings; connections to health supports, including mental and dental healthcare; supports for families — including connections to prenatal care and economic, education, housing, and health supports; and coaching and access to credentials and higher levels of education for the workforce. In some states, the EHS-CCPs have prompted important policy changes that align standards across these two programs, reducing the burden for communities and providers. Check out the full series here and help us spread the word!

Authored by: Mario Cardona, Shantel Meek, Linda Smith, Yvette Fuentes, and Eric Bucher for Arizona State University Center for Child and Family Success
Topics: Child welfare, COVID-19, Health, Mental health, Workforce development
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 3, 2022

Building Supply, Enhancing Quality, and Advancing Equity: The Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Series

Policy Brief
Nov 3, 2022
Mario Cardona, Shantel Meek, Linda Smith, Yvette Fuentes, and Eric Bucher for Arizona State University Center for Child and Family Success
The series highlights the promising work of the EHS-CCPs to date, particularly related to pandemic recovery and stabilization, workforce support, and expanding access to holistic support for children and families, especially mental health support.
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Case study
Community:
Oct 25, 2022
Unsheltered homelessness is on the rise amid a systemic and widespread lack of affordable housing, supportive services, and livable wages. As the housing crisis worsens, homelessness has become increasingly visible and, as a result, increasingly dominant as a public concern. Instead of addressing the issue’s root causes—a lack of housing and supportive services—many cities have leaned into punitive responses that criminalize homelessness, such as arresting people for sitting or sleeping in certain public places. But this approach is costly and ineffective. Police don’t solve homelessness, they only move it around—to other neighborhoods, jails, and emergency rooms—rather than connecting people with the housing and services they need. What would it take to actually end homelessness for people living on the street? And how would that affect the time and resources police spend managing the problem without solving it? New data from a supportive housing program in Denver show what could happen when communities address the underlying causes of homelessness rather than continuing the status quo.

Authored by: Emily Peiffer for the Urban Institute's Housing Matters initiative
Topics: Criminal justice, Homelessness, Supportive housing
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 1, 2022
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Communications
Community:
Oct 14, 2022
Medical debt is a critical challenge to Americans’ financial stability and well-being. People with medical debt are more likely to forgo needed medical care, have difficulty meeting basic needs, and face an increased risk of bankruptcy. Recent Urban research shows there are great disparities in who carries the most medical debt. Adults who live in communities where the majority of the population are people of color are more likely to have medical debt in collections reported on their credit reports. In particular, Black adults are more likely to have difficulty paying for family medical expenses. These inequities reinforce the racial wealth gap and contribute to disparities in health outcomes.

Authored by: Miranda Santillo, Breno Braga, Fredric Blavin, Anuj Gangopadhyaya for The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Dual-eligibles, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 27, 2022
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Policy Brief
Community:
Sep 28, 2022
Approximately one in five adults reported experiencing household food insecurity in both spring 2020 and again in summer 2022, after a decline in reported food insecurity in spring 2021. High food price inflation, along with elevated costs for other basic needs, such as transportation and rent, have likely eroded food budgets in the last year. In addition, some of the safety net responses that buffered food insecurity in 2021 are no longer in place. In this brief, we use data from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey, a nationally representative survey of nonelderly adults, to assess food insecurity among households with nonelderly adults in March/April 2020, April 2021, and June 2022.

Authored by: Elaine Waxman, Julio Salas, Poonam Gupta, Michael Karpman for the Urban Institute
Topics: Food insecurity, Research, Stability
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 27, 2022
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Policy Brief
Community:
Oct 12, 2022
Disabled individuals and families in federally assisted housing face multiple challenges in gaining access to housing units and services that meet their needs—despite legal frameworks meant to help them. This brief focuses on working-age disabled individuals and families with a disabled household member who live in federally assisted housing. It presents evidence of the challenges with federally assisted housing processes and supports for residents with disabilities, and provides recommendations that could help these processes and supports better meet legal obligations and resident needs.

Authored by: Corianne Payton Scally, Ebonie Megibow, Susan J. Popkin for the Urban Institute
Topics: Disabilities, Family engagement, Housing
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 27, 2022

Improving Experiences for Residents with Disabilities in Federally Assisted Family Housing

Policy Brief
Oct 12, 2022
Corianne Payton Scally, Ebonie Megibow, Susan J. Popkin for the Urban Institute
Disabled individuals and families in federally assisted housing face multiple challenges in gaining access to housing units and services that meet their needs—despite legal frameworks meant to help them.
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Case study
Community:
Oct 25, 2022
According to UN-Habitat, the world needs to build 96,000 affordable homes every day to address the global housing crisis by 2030. Yet, better utilizing existing housing stock—through options such as shared housing—can make a significant dent in the need to build more housing. With college students often challenged to find affordable housing and many older adults living alone in homes with spare bedrooms, these two groups are increasingly benefitting from living together. Universities are often well-suited to facilitate students living and learning with older adults in nearby communities. Intentionally fostering intergenerational engagement through places and programs can reduce loneliness, mitigate ageist stereotypes, and help both groups to thrive.

Authored by: Stephanie Firestone and Julia Glassman for AARP Equity by Design
Topics: Community development, dual-generation initiative, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Mental health, Seniors, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 25, 2022

Principles in Action Universities as Age Friendly Partners

Case study
Oct 25, 2022
Stephanie Firestone and Julia Glassman for AARP Equity by Design
According to UN-Habitat, the world needs to build 96,000 affordable homes every day to address the global housing crisis by 2030. Yet, better utilizing existing housing stock—through options such as shared housing—can make a significant dent in the need to build more housing.
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Case study
Community:
Aug 1, 2022
Created by the Older Americans Act in 1973, AAAs are part of the national Aging Network. AAAs are the local leaders that develop, coordinate, and deliver a wide range of home and community-based services. These services include information and referral/assistance, case management, home-delivered meals and meals in congregate settings, in-home services, caregiver supports, transportation, evidence based health and wellness programs, long-term care ombudsman programs, and more. People who receive services provided by AAAs have improved health and well-being, helping them remain in their homes and thrive in the community.

Authored by: U.S Administration for Community Living
Topics: Disabilities, Food insecurity, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Seniors, Supportive housing
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 18, 2022
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Case study
Community:
Aug 1, 2022
As an Area Agency on Aging (AAA), AgeSpan engages in innovative partnerships with housing providers through the Massachusetts Supportive Housing Program (MSHP). Working with property managers at designated local housing sites, AgeSpan places staff as resident service coordinators (RSCs). The RSCs deliberately build strong, trusting relationships with residents, offering a daily touchstone that greatly improves quality of life. When housing and services are coordinated, older adults and people with disabilities are better able to live well in the community.

Authored by: U.S administration for Community Living
Topics: Disabilities, Food insecurity, Housing, Low-income, Seniors
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 18, 2022

AGESPAN AND PARTNERS BRING HOUSING AND SERVICES TOGETHER

Case study
Aug 1, 2022
U.S administration for Community Living
As an Area Agency on Aging (AAA), AgeSpan engages in innovative partnerships with housing providers through the Massachusetts Supportive Housing Program (MSHP). Working with property managers at designated local housing sites, AgeSpan places staff as resident service coordinators (RSCs).
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Report
Community:
Sep 27, 2022
Human Rights Watch report on Public housing- How US Underfunding Public Housing Harms Rights in New York, New Mexico, and Beyond

Authored by: Human Rights Watch
Topics: Funding, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 11, 2022
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Report
Community:
Oct 6, 2022
During the pandemic, many older adults faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and supportive services. In response, organizations that support older people improvised solutions to address these challenges. This report, co-authored with The Hastings Center, examines how these responses, most of which were intended to be temporary, might improve housing and supports for older adults and address longstanding inequities.

Authored by: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and the Hastings Center
Topics: Health, Research
Shared by Camille Anoll-Hunter on Oct 6, 2022

Advancing Housing and Health Equity for Older Adults: Pandemic Innovations and Insights

Report
Oct 6, 2022
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and the Hastings Center
During the pandemic, many older adults faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and supportive services. In response, organizations that support older people improvised solutions to address these challenges.
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Report
Community:
Sep 22, 2022
New research from Urban Institute housing experts explores the characteristics of youth and young adults living in federally assisted housing and the neighborhoods in which they live. Stable housing is essential for young people as they transition from adolescence to adulthood, and public housing agencies often play a critical role in providing them with affordable homes. In 2021 alone, 755,000 youth (people ages 14 to 18) and 513,000 young adults (people ages 19 to 25) received federal housing assistance. Youth and young adult heads of household in federally assisted housing tend to have extremely low incomes. They are less likely to live in metropolitan areas, and 11 percent were experiencing homelessness at the time of their admission into housing. Little information is available about these young people and their experiences accessing stable and affordable housing, and this brief demonstrates that more work must be done to guide service providers, advocates, and policymakers to strengthen supports and services. If you have questions or would like to speak with the research team, please email me at aelsbree@urban.org.

Authored by: Olivia Fiol, Matthew Gerken, Susan J. Popkin, and Abby Boshart for THE URBAN INSTITUTE
Topics: Child welfare, Housing, Stability, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 4, 2022