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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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Video
Community:
Jun 17, 2022
Public and affordable housing agencies and organizations have the potential to serve as a crucial foundation for promoting early school success for economically challenged, fragile and otherwise marginalized children and families through a 24/7/365 multigenerational system of support and an ability to meet families 'where they are.' During this engaging session, Housing Is and our long-time partner The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading will elevate the critical importance of these housing-education partnerships, with special attention to the way in which such collaborations begin. This plenary will explore initial partnership development work taking place in Kansas City, MO, one of the 20 finalist communities recently announced for the 2022 All-America City Awards. The theme of this year's award is "Housing as a Platform to Promote Early School Success and Equitable Learning Recovery." Attendees have the unique opportunity to hear from a partnership in its earlier stages of development and learn alongside the speakers how critical cross-sector work can be launched.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, CLPHA, Early childhood, Education, Healthy homes, Housing, Low-income, Supportive housing, Sustainability
Shared by Karina George on Jun 17, 2022

CLPHA Housing Is Summit 2022: Housing as a Platform to Support Early Learning

Video
Jun 17, 2022
Public and affordable housing agencies and organizations have the potential to serve as a crucial foundation for promoting early school success for economically challenged, fragile and otherwise marginalized children and families through a 24/7/365 multigenerational system of support and an ability
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Community:
Jun 17, 2022
Building off discussions during previous Summits, this panel will highlight research and promising practices on cash assistance for low-income individuals and families, including income supports stemming from the pandemic.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, CLPHA, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Karina George on Jun 17, 2022
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Webinar
Community:
Dec 14, 2021
At its December 2021 meeting, CLPHA's Housing Is Working Group learned from experts in the field about how they have worked to create resident-focused and community-centered work with their PHAs and partners. We also brainstormed how best to support residents and work towards more equitable and representative housing for everyone, and left with the knowledge of how to better highlight and prioritize resident voices and leadership at every level of our work.

Authored by: Housing Is
Topics: Family engagement, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Housing Is Working Group, Mental health, Racial inequalities, Supportive housing
Shared by Stephanie Gray on Apr 18, 2022
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Publication
Community:
Jun 17, 2021

Authored by: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods
Topics: Attendance, COVID-19, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Out-of-school time, Youth
Shared by Kirsten Greenwell on Jun 17, 2021
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Report
Community:
May 6, 2021
As evidence grows that housing mobility programs can vastly improve residents’ life trajectories, today the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Institute for Health and Social Policy based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a network of experts released a report to help inform and guide supplementary research on the new Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Mobility Demonstration Program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Including input from leaders in the housing, health, education, and economic development fields, the Report of the Housing Mobility Research Road Map Project provides research considerations for the HCV Mobility Demonstration Program, which will begin funding nine public housing agencies in Spring 2021 to provide housing vouchers and mobility services to help families move to lower-poverty neighborhoods. Housing mobility programs have the potential to disrupt historic patterns of segregation and increase families’ economic mobility. As these programs are implemented, there will be opportunities for research to inform a broad range of public policies including health, education, and housing policy.

Authored by: Oktawia Wójcik for ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION & Craig Pollack for JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Topics: Advocacy, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Mobility, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on May 25, 2021

Report of the Housing Mobility Research Road Map Project

Report
May 6, 2021
Oktawia Wójcik for ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION & Craig Pollack for JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
As evidence grows that housing mobility programs can vastly improve residents’ life trajectories, today the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Institute for Health and Social Policy based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a network of experts released a report to help inform and g
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 5, 2021
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many public housing authorities (PHAs) to quickly adjust their operational procedures to protect their staff while providing emergency assistance to residents. Many PHAs had to close their offices and convert to remote operations almost overnight, while staff focused on supporting their tenants by delivering them food, doing wellness checks for vulnerable residents, and ensuring they had access to and in some cases providing the technology needed for children to attend school remotely and isolated residents to remain connected to friends, family, and service providers. Moreover, as the economic crisis caused by the pandemic worsened, PHAs were under pressure to rapidly adjust rents for tenants who had lost income and process housing choice voucher (HCV) applications so people could use their vouchers to find housing. This brief provides insights into how public housing authorities used additional flexibilities that became available through a series of HUD-issued regulatory and statutory waivers, and makes the case for the potential benefits for added flexibilities for the HCV and public housing programs going forward.

Authored by: Monique King-Viehl, Elizabeth Champion, & Susan J. Popkin for URBAN INSTITUTE
Topics: Advocacy, COVID-19, Data sharing, Health, Housing, Safety, Supportive housing
Shared by Housing Is on May 25, 2021
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
May 20, 2021
Higher education offers millions of people the opportunity to improve their financial well-being. However, higher education is prohibitively expensive and can saddle people with insurmountable debt. Costs beyond tuition—such as housing, food, child care, and transportation—are large, essential components of the cost of attending college for students. In order to better understand how these living costs add up and vary, this report offers estimates of costs beyond tuition for older students between the ages of 25 – 45, who make up roughly one-third of college students and face unique barriers to college access and completion. The report shows that the real cost of college for older students is higher than commonly understood, examines older students’ challenges with financial aid and public benefits programs, and offers policy recommendations to address costs beyond tuition and improve college access and success for older students.

Authored by: Vincent Palacios, Casey Goldvale, Chris Geary & Laura Tatum for GEORGETOWN LAW
Topics: Attendance, Community development, Education, Housing, Post-secondary, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 20, 2021

Obstacles to Opportunity: Increasing College Success by Understanding & Addressing Older Students’ Costs Beyond Tuition

Report
May 20, 2021
Vincent Palacios, Casey Goldvale, Chris Geary & Laura Tatum for GEORGETOWN LAW
Higher education offers millions of people the opportunity to improve their financial well-being. However, higher education is prohibitively expensive and can saddle people with insurmountable debt.
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Video
Community:
May 18, 2021
The devastating consequences of climate change will continue to impact our everyday lives, testing the resilience of our communities and influencing the processes of how we build housing. PHAs have been on the front-line managing disaster recovery efforts and are well-positioned to be leaders in advancing policies to develop environmentally friendly green infrastructure. This panel will discuss past endeavors to secure safe housing for displaced communities, what steps are required to mitigate future disasters, and how PHAs are designing plans to make greener and more healthier communities.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Community development, Green, Housing
Shared by Housing Is on May 18, 2021
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Community:
May 18, 2021
Over the past several years, CLPHA has worked with its members to disseminate information on the best eviction prevention practices and many public housing authorities (PHAs) have made great progress in developing new strategies to keep families housed. The eventual ending of the CDC eviction moratorium provides an opportunity for PHAs to review their eviction prevention strategies. Panelists will review the latest research on COVID-19 and evictions, protecting voucher holders from eviction, and work that PHAs are doing to evaluate their own eviction practices through a racial equity lens.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Community development, COVID-19, Healthy homes, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on May 18, 2021

CLPHA HousingIs Summit 2021: Revisiting Eviction Prevention Practices Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Video
May 18, 2021
CLPHA
Over the past several years, CLPHA has worked with its members to disseminate information on the best eviction prevention practices and many public housing authorities (PHAs) have made great progress in developing new strategies to keep families housed.
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Community:
May 18, 2021
Keynote: Michael Bennet (D-Co), Congressional Video Message. Plenary: Reducing Childhood Poverty. Following Housing Is' 2019 Summit discussion of reducing childhood poverty and the idea of a university child allowance, this panel will explore the renewed discussion of legislation around a child tax credit and the idea of a universal basic income.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 18, 2021
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Video
Community:
May 18, 2021
Roundtable: Cross-Sector Efforts on COVID-19. More than a year into a global pandemic, we continue to see disparities in infections, access to care, and economic supports, with an unequal burden on low-income and communities of color. This roundtable will discuss perspectives from housing, health, and policy for what we have seen and what may be to come, as well as ideas we may enact to create more permanent solutions, in addition to addressing current crises.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: CLPHA, Community development, COVID-19, Education, Health, Housing, Partnerships
Shared by Housing Is on May 18, 2021
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Podcast
Community:
Jan 13, 2021
On a day-to-day basis, vulnerable populations suffer from inequities in health, wealth, and education. These same people are then disproportionately impacted by catastrophes ranging from hurricanes to COVID-19, which only serve to underline the great and urgent need for equity across race, gender, and income. In the latest episode of The Intersect, Madeline Colety and Lorine Giangola discuss how Abt’s housing and resilience work is helping clients promote equity.

Authored by: Madeline Colety & Lorine Giangola for ABT ASSOCIATES
Topics: Advocacy, Community development, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Healthy homes, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 14, 2021
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Report
Community: Seniors
Dec 3, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, service coordinators played a pivotal role in the support of older adult residents of publicly funded housing properties. Some independent housing operators employ service coordinators to increase residents’ self-sufficiency, physical security, social connections, and the delivery of long-term community-based supportive services. This report presents results from a survey conducted between June 23 and July 17, 2020 to explore the experiences of these service coordinators during the early months of COVID-19. At the time of the survey, about one-third of respondents were aware of at least one resident on the property who had tested positive for COVID-19. The survey revealed the pandemic’s impact on the lives of older residents of publicly funded housing. Professional support systems that typically provided personal assistance and medical care were interrupted, threatening residents’ physical and mental health. Transportation and resource acquisition systems were also unsettled, creating barriers to activities of independent living such as shopping to acquire food and medication. Social challenges were particularly acute during the early months of the pandemic. Residents demonstrated signs of anxiety and loneliness as their typical experiences of community life were muted. And, while health guidelines and novel benefit programs emerged at a steady clip, communication systems had to be modified from largely in-person formats to accommodate a population of older adults without consistent access to technological platforms.

Authored by: Samara Scheckler for THE JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Topics: Community development, Housing, Mental health, Seniors
Shared by Housing Is on Dec 3, 2020

For Older Adults in Publicly Funded Housing During the Pandemic, Service Coordinators Help Build Resilience

Report
Dec 3, 2020
Samara Scheckler for THE JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY
During the COVID-19 pandemic, service coordinators played a pivotal role in the support of older adult residents of publicly funded housing properties.
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Report
Community: Youth
Nov 3, 2020
As housing costs have escalated and inequities persist across the country, many young people need flexible, empowerment-based investments to get stably housed and onto a path to thriving. To this end, direct financial assistance (“cash transfers”) with other supports offer a promising solution grounded in a robust global evidence base. The circumstances of COVID-19 amplify the importance of developing and evaluating youth-informed approaches to doing things differently. This report shares results and implications of a year-long research and stakeholder engagement process that Chapin Hall conducted in collaboration with Point Source Youth to inform the development of a Direct Cash Transfer Program (DCTP) for youth experiencing homelessness. We look forward to piloting and rigorously evaluating a program based on these findings, starting in NYC.

Authored by: Matthew Morton for CHAPIN HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Topics: Community development, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Nov 3, 2020
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Report
Community:
Oct 14, 2020
This report examines trends among career-age families living in publicly supported rental homes and offers new insights into how COVID-19 threatens the economic stability of these families. Before the pandemic, most career-age families living in publicly supported homes that can work were working. However, many employed assisted renters that continue to work likely face a high risk of COVID-19 exposure. Forty-six percent of assisted renters employed last March worked in occupations that would become frontline occupations, one-fifth worked in occupations exposed to infectious diseases once a month or more, and nearly one-third worked in occupations that require working in moderate or close proximity to others. At the same time, one-third of assisted renters employed in 2018 reported having a risk factor that increases the likelihood of contracting a severe case of COVID-19.

Authored by: PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION
Topics: Healthy homes, Housing, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 20, 2020

2020 Housing Impact Report: Career-Age Families

Report
Oct 14, 2020
PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION
This report examines trends among career-age families living in publicly supported rental homes and offers new insights into how COVID-19 threatens the economic stability of these families. Before the pandemic, most career-age families living in publicly supported homes that can work were working
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
May 2, 2019
Innovative public housing authorities (PHAs) are collaborating with college access partners and community colleges to increase postsecondary educational achievement for low-income residents and college students experiencing homelessness. This report elevates 11 shared learnings from a recent convening of these five pioneering PHAs and their postsecondary collaborators, and offers a series of recommendations to policy makers, PHAs, and philanthropic organizations seeking to develop emerging cross-sector collaborations between housing and education organizations. The report also includes an overview of the federal policies that support and limit postsecondary achievement for students served by PHAs, and profiles of the five partnerships: CHA and partners City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees; CMHA and partner Columbus State Community College; HACLA and partner Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN); LMHA and partner Family Scholar House; and THA and partner Tacoma Community College.

Authored by: Abra Lyons-Warren for CLPHA
Topics: CLPHA, Education, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Post-secondary, Stability
Shared by Abra Lyons-Warren on Oct 6, 2020

Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities

Report
May 2, 2019
Abra Lyons-Warren for CLPHA
Innovative public housing authorities (PHAs) are collaborating with college access partners and community colleges to increase postsecondary educational achievement for low-income residents and college students experiencing homelessness.
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Video
Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Carefully planned, high quality summer programs encourage youth participation and retention, providing them with life changing experiences. This interactive workshop will introduce participants to research-based best practices in summer learning; help them explore best practices and areas of challenge within their own programs; and support them in starting to develop quality improvement goals. Participants will hear examples of summer program quality, practical ways to implement assessment measures using an interactive program planning guide and assessment tool, and how they can more strategically approach planning for quality in their summer offerings.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Education, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Video
Community:
Jun 12, 2020
The growing number of PHAs developing housing mobility programs present an exciting opportunity for families with young children who are seeking higher performing schools for their children. These mobility programs can complement related PHA programs to improve local schools in traditional neighborhoods, by giving children the opportunity to cross school district lines to attend low poverty, less racially isolated schools. This session will give an overview of current research on the benefits of school integration, and will highlight the efforts of several PHAs to help families access suburban school districts as part of a housing mobility strategy.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Education, Housing, Mobility, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Video
Community:
Jun 12, 2020
A growing body of evidence validates the role of agency and engagement in a person’s wellbeing. Both traditional healthcare and public health experts are seeking to implement person-centered approaches to outreach, care, and measurement. While many housing organizations are committed to resident-centered approaches, operationalizing this value in the daily business of managing real estate, running services, and reporting to investors/funders presents challenges. SAHF is working to understand how housers can better facilitate greater resident agency, voice, and power in an effort to support resident wellbeing. SAHF will share key learnings from our work and facilitate a discussion and peer sharing on these topics.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Video
Community:
Jun 12, 2020
By age three, lower-income children are often well behind their more affluent peers in language and literacy skills, leading to gaps in school readiness by kindergarten and beyond. Addressing these gaps requires solutions that span beyond school hours into the informal places where families live, learn and play. This session will highlight in research and practice how everyday spaces - laundromats, playgrounds, supermarkets, hospital waiting rooms, and others – can transform into literacy-rich environments with learning opportunities for families and young children. Speakers will also discuss how these partnerships apply to the design and utilization of affordable housing developments.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Housing is fundamental for generating better outcomes in education, health, racial equity, and more; yet housing providers neither can nor should take on major outcome goals alone. This session will engage participants in deep and interactive dialogue about the role that housing providers can play in collective impact and how housing and other partners can work together toward a shared vision for change. With background framing from the Urban Institute, presenters from StriveTogether, Enterprise Community Partners, and an innovative housing authority will share lessons from their experiences as part of a participatory session on effective collective local impact partnerships.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Education, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Video
Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Community health workers (CHW) can be vital to ensuring individuals and communities accessing the full range of healthcare and social services they need. Housing authorities and their health partners are increasingly looking for ways to train and deploy CHWs in their communities to help improve health outcomes, improve satisfaction with care, lower healthcare costs, and minimize health disparities. This session will explore several PHAs training residents to become CHWs. Participants will learn of the deliberative process undertaken to design proofs of concept that feature cross-sector partnerships, metrics determination, data collection and sharing approaches, evaluation planning, anticipated outcomes and strategies for replicability.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Health, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Following our 2020 Summit Keynote Speaker Congresswoman Donna Shalala, we will hear from a roundtable comprised of a national Medicaid payer, large housing authority, and essential health care service provider about improving outcomes through innovative collaboration between the health and housing sectors. As a Medicaid managed care organization, UnitedHealthcare Community & State has forged partnerships with public housing authorities (PHAs) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to address the social determinants of health of those individuals accessing the Medicaid system. UnitedHealthcare will be joined in this conversation by the Housing Authority of the City of Austin and Bread for the City (an FQHC in Washington, DC) to discuss the importance of including all of these partners at the table. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed public health and social inequities front and center, we are reminded of the importance of partnerships with an “all hands on deck” approach to produce results.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Health, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020

CLPHA Housing Is Summit 2020: Day 2 Plenary with Keynote Speaker Donna Shalala and Health-Housing Panel

Video
Jun 12, 2020
CLPHA
Following our 2020 Summit Keynote Speaker Congresswoman Donna Shalala, we will hear from a roundtable comprised of a national Medicaid payer, large housing authority, and essential health care service provider about improving outcomes through innovative collaboration between the health and housing s
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Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Housing providers and public health experts share insights from building cross-sector health and housing partnerships. King County Housing Authority, Seattle Housing Authority, and Public Health - Seattle & King County have integrated housing data with Medicaid and Medicare data to better understand resident health needs and inform health initiatives. Leveraging this linked dataset, Dr. Craig Pollack is investigating the effects of receiving housing assistance on health outcomes. Vancouver Housing Authority is part of the Health and Housing Innovation Partnership, which aims to increase housing options for people with complex behavioral and physical health conditions and to better integrate health care services with the housing. Yakima Housing Authority recently became a Supported Employment provider under a new Washington State Medicaid Program, requiring the agency to become more connected to the state’s Medicaid system.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Health, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020
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Community:
Jun 12, 2020
Focused on advancing equitable results for families and children, this session will examine the cross-sector partnerships used in Norfolk and Asheville. Participants will learn about proven approaches on how education and housing providers can collaboratively create a population level result, how to use data to inform strategy development, how to conduct a factor analysis, how to formulate targeted and universal strategies, and how to establish baselines, targets and performance measures. Leaders from city governments, school districts, and the housing authorities will share insights and engage attendees in discussion.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: Education, Housing, Summit 2020
Shared by Steve Lucas on Jun 12, 2020