COVID-19 has hit many communities hard, often in disproportionate ways. Individuals and families who live in public and affordable housing are generally more at risk for contracting and dying from this disease due to previously inequitable social determinants of health conditions; they are also being affected economically. Often working low-wage jobs with little to no […]
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, housing instability and homelessness were linked to poor physical and mental health outcomes for children and adults. But the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis highlight the critical intersection between where you live and health in myriad ways. Solutions that respond to the complex nature of these interlocking issues are needed more […]
Originally published on Habitat for Humanity. The message from public health professionals is clear: For the health of your family, and that of your community, the best thing you can do is stay at home. That guidance is clear, and it will save lives. But it also forces us to ask: What if the home […]
Originally published on Multi-Housing News. The coronavirus outbreak has impacted renters and homeowners alike from all corners of the U.S. But for those living in affordable housing and low-income rental properties, financial difficulties caused by the pandemic can exacerbate pre-existing problems. Megan Sandel, co-director of the GROW Clinic at Boston Medical Center, said during a […]
Originally published on PsychCentral. Families facing housing instability or homelessness who enroll in a program designed to support their housing and health needs see significant improvements in child health and parent mental health outcomes within six months, according to a new study by researchers from Boston Medical Center. The program, called Housing Prescription as Health […]
Originally published on Urban Land. The health and economic effects of COVID-19 on the multifamily industry, in terms of exacerbating existing problems related to the nation’s affordable housing shortage, were discussed by housing experts and advocates convened April 7 for a ULI webinar on the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on lower-income renters. “Confronting COVID-19: […]
Originally published on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The supply of affordable apartments nationwide, including in Wisconsin, has long fallen well short of demand from lower-income renters. With the coronavirus pandemic causing the unemployment rate to spike, there’s a huge concern that even more people could be at risk of homelessness. But affordable housing developers and groups that […]
Originally published on Reuters. NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The economic blow of the coronavirus could push 1.5 million U.S. families to the brink of homelessness, housing experts warned, not only increasing poverty but accelerating the spread of the pandemic in overcrowded homes. Those families would join some 8 million existing U.S. households on […]
Originally published on Fast Company. Housing is more than a basic need—it’s a key part to healthcare. Amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, that aspect of healthcare is both more needed and more precarious than ever. There are already nearly 10 million very low-income renter households across the U.S., and another 1.5 million […]
Originally published on Affordable Housing Finance. It’s time for the nation to reset, said Dr. Megan Sandel, co-director of the GROW clinic at Boston Medical Center, co-lead principal investigator with Children’s HealthWatch, and associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. “Housing acts as a vaccine. A vaccine keeps you […]