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 EurekAlert. BOSTON – Results of a study show that enrollment in a program that supports housing and health needs of medically complex families was associated with improved child health and parent mental health within six months. The program, Housing Prescription as Health Care (HPHC), helps families experiencing homelessness and housing instability in […]
Originally published on Modern Healthcare. Housing and integrated social services improved the health of children and adults in medically complex families, a new study found. Priority placement in affordable housing coupled with case management, financial and legal services for families that combat chronic diseases and housing instability significantly improved both physical and mental health compared […]
Abstract The effects of housing instability and homelessness on child and adult health are well documented. However, few studies have explored health and housing interventions for families with children with the objective of health improvement. Housing Prescriptions as Health Care is a randomized controlled trial that is investigating the impact on physical and mental health […]
Health Starts at Home has been a five-year initiative hosted by the Boston Foundation to bring together housing and health-care organizations to pilot new approaches that focus on the active benefits of stable, affordable housing on children’s health outcomes. Health Starts at Home has supported partnerships among housing and health-care organizations with the goal of: […]
Originally published on Medscape. Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center (BMC) in Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News, “I do believe that housing is a prescription for health. I believe, though, that the [entity that needs] to stock the pharmacy for housing is really the federal government.” She said creating partnerships across federal, […]
As the Care Coordinator for Housing Prescriptions as Health Care, I see firsthand the resilience of families and the importance of housing stability on a daily basis. A partnership between Children’s HealthWatch, Project Hope, MLPB (formerly Medical-Legal Partnership Boston), the Boston Housing Authority, and Nuestra Comunidad, Housing Prescriptions offers support and resources with housing matters, […]
For eight months, Jamal Brown’s body shook, so violently that he lost consciousness and ended up in the hospital more than 30 times. Though only in his 30s, his face drooped, his arms and legs often felt numb, and he was overcome with the anxiety of being a homeless drug addict trying to get clean […]