Children’s HealthWatch Submits Written Testimony to the MA Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities
On October 29, 2021, Children’s HealthWatch submitted testimony to Chairman Gomez, Chairman Finn, and distinguished members of the MA Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities in support of H.202/S.111: An Act to improve emergency housing assistance for children and families experiencing homelessness.
As a nonpartisan network of pediatricians, public health researchers, and children’s health and policy experts, we know that children and their families need access to safe, stable homes throughout their lifetime to thrive. However, we see in our clinics that children and their families continue to face housing instability in Massachusetts, despite the availability of resources, due to program barriers and strict qualifications that place them at an increased risk of homelessness. Currently, the state has an opportunity to address this and improve the health of young children and their families by enacting H.202/S.111, which will reduce barriers to accessing Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter placements and related HomeBASE resources, and thus support the health, stability, and well-being of children and families.
Our research and the research of others demonstrate that children and their families need access to safe, stable homes throughout their lifetime to thrive. We have found that children living in stable homes have better physical and mental health outcomes and educational achievement, are at a lower risk of hospitalization, and are less likely to experience other economic hardships. Furthermore, research has shown that stable housing reduces overall health care expenditures, including reduced emergency department costs and general inpatient hospitalizations.
