About the Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where systems work together to improve life outcomes.
Fragmented service delivery systems and siloed policymaking often fail to address the needs of low-income individuals and families holistically, resulting in stagnant outcomes and costly inefficiencies. CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that systems can better meet these needs and improve life outcomes when they work together.
In order to solve challenges associated with poverty and other social determinants, we must break down silos and create opportunities for different systems and sectors (public, private, and nonprofit) to collaborate. Collaboration across systems and sectors—through shared goals, focused resources, and coordinated efforts—strengthens our collective ability to serve low-income individuals and families effectively and efficiently.
Public housing offers many low-income children, families, and seniors stability, which research has shown can help improve life outcomes. Housing Is helps connect the public housing system with other service delivery systems such as education and healthcare. The initiative helps broaden and deepen efforts to align housing, education, and health organizations and systems to produce positive long-term outcomes.
Housing Is fosters improved, sustained alignment and collaboration across systems and sectors by leading the following efforts:
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Partnerships: Foster new and strengthen existing partnerships across systems and sectors to more effectively and efficiently improve life outcomes.
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Community of Practice: Continue to create and strengthen our community of practice to support on-the-ground efforts, strengthen policymaking, and inform advocacy benefiting low-income individuals and families.
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Best Practices: Identify and promote program- and system-level best practices proven to positively address social determinants and improve life outcomes.
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Online Collaboration: Maintain a virtual gathering place, HousingIs.org, for experts from various support systems to promote effective programs and share innovative ideas.
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Policy & Advocacy: Convene researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to advocate for smart policies across systems and sectors as an intersectional thought leader based in housing, as well as improve policies and practices that directly impact low-income residents and those experiencing homelessness.
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Resource Development: Develop interdisciplinary resources that support sustained collaboration such as cross-system data sharing agreements.
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Training & Education: Provide training and education across systems and sectors aimed at treating housing as a cornerstone social determinant.