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THRIVE FROM THE START

Every infant and toddler deserves a safe, stable, and nurturing start in life. That’s why Housing Is has joined forces with  Prevent Child Abuse America, SchoolHouse Connection, and ZERO TO THREE to launch Thrive From The Start—a cross-sector effort dedicated to addressing homelessness among infants, toddlers, and expectant parents. Visit thrivefromthestart.org to learn more and explore how you can be a part of the solution. 

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Housing Is Working Group 2024-2025 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 child welfare and housing, leveraging Medicaid resources for housing services, out-of-school time, and digital connectivity in a post-ACP world. 

View Calendar
 
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Report
Community:
Jun 29, 2022
Looking largely at the 2020-2021 school year, the report is chock-full of information about how schools apply research-based strategies in a variety of different contexts – from very different school systems across multiple states – to make research translate into positive experiences and outcomes for students and their teachers in three critical areas: • Instructional work, where math or English-language-arts teams, including instructional coaches, special-education teachers, and English learner/multilingual teachers, work to improve the quality of instruction within classrooms. • Early Warning and Response strategies, where grade-level or cross-functional teams work to create more supportive school environments, where young people are connected to adults, each other, and the school community. • Well-Matched Postsecondary initiatives, where school-based teams of counselors, service providers, district and school leaders, teachers, and other staff band together to implement evidence-based strategies and processes that support postsecondary application, enrollment, and persistence. At its heart, improvement is about learning. Each of these networks study their own work, and consistently and strategically make adaptations to increase their effectiveness as the organizational hub supporting schools. And they demonstrate how lessons need not fade away, but when codified, systematized, and shared, they can deepen our collective capacity to accelerate the field’s learning and growth.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, Attendance, Child welfare, CLPHA, Community development, Education, Grade-level proficiency, Housing, Literacy, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Supportive housing, Sustainability, Youth
Shared by Karina George on Jun 29, 2022
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Report
Community:
Jun 6, 2019
Trends in Housing Assistance and Who it Serves

Authored by: PAHRC
Topics: Community development, Disabilities, Education, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research, Seniors, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Keely Stater on Sep 10, 2019
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Report
Community:
Apr 8, 2019
While the program has changed very little since its inception, the need for the program has increased. In 1975, the number of program grantees stood at 594. Today, the number of grantees stands at 1,268 as more communities qualify to receive direct program allocations. Based on a CDBG Needs Survey conducted by the CDBG Coalition (and discussed later in this report), CDBG grantees have delayed and canceled projects and reduced or permanently eliminated programs because of a lack of CDBG funds. CDBG is an important investment tool for communities and neighborhoods, but program funding must increase to meet local need to ensure CDBG grantee communities are healthy, vibrant and thriving.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research, Safety, Seniors
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 8, 2019

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program: Impact and Funding Need

A report of the CDBG Coalition

Report
Apr 8, 2019
While the program has changed very little since its inception, the need for the program has increased. In 1975, the number of program grantees stood at 594. Today, the number of grantees stands at 1,268 as more communities qualify to receive direct program allocations.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 12, 2019
Kaiser is investing $200 million in low-interest loans for affordable housing nationwide. This may be part of a growing national trend of health maintenance organizations investing in housing to improve community health. In Phoenix, United Healthcare lent money to a community development corporation, Chicanos Por La Causa, to purchase apartment complexes for Medicaid recipients. In Chicago, the University of Illinois Hospital helps to find permanent housing for homeless people who regularly present at its emergency department.

Authored by: Raquel Maria Dillon for Market Place
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Community development, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, West Coast
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 14, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jun 11, 2018
At a recent public meeting, Sandra Lee Fewer, a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors, asked acting librarian Michael Lambert to explore whether future library renovations might include affordable housing. Fewer hopes to leverage existing public land to create multi-story facilities that include both libraries and housing.

Authored by: Steve Dubb for NPQ
Topics: Community development, Homelessness, Housing, Literacy, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 29, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jan 24, 2019
A new collaboration of San Francisco Bay Area foundations and businesses is raising $540 million to tackle the region’s affordable housing crisis.

Authored by: Affordable Housing Finance
Topics: Community development, Health, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Supportive housing, West Coast
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 28, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jan 11, 2019
When plans to develop affordable housing units in San Bernadino hit a funding roadblock, Dignity Health committed a $1.2 million bridge loan to help fill the gap. But the health system didn't stop there.

Authored by: Alyia Gaskins for Shelter Force
Topics: Community development, Funding, Health, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 23, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jan 10, 2019
Island School is one of 247 “community schools” in New York. These are regular public schools, with a twist. They have longer days and longer school years: Island stays open 12 hours a day, six days a week, including spring and winter breaks as well as the summer. A psychologist makes weekly rounds. A dentist comes by regularly. So does an optometrist, and students who need glasses get them free.

Authored by: David L. Kirk for The New York Times
Topics: Community development, Dual-generation, East Coast, Education, Family engagement, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Metrics, Partnerships, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 10, 2019
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Interactive
Community:
The 2018 Purpose Built Conference in Orlando, Florida from October 24 – 26 was a tremendous opportunity for thoughtful engagement and energetic conversations with Network Members and attendees from all across the country. Our panel of guest speakers represented a wide range of industries and brought unique perspectives and insights.

Authored by: Purpose Built Communities
Topics: Community development, Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Mobility, Partnerships, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 5, 2018
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News Article
Community:
Nov 30, 2018
The city and county of Durham, GoTriangle and the Durham Housing Authority are committed to enhancing opportunities for existing low-income families as well as to increasing the production of affordable housing. The light-rail project is critical to the success of these goals, and the success of these goals is critical to the light-rail project.

Authored by: Anthony Scott and John Tallmadge for The Herald Sun
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, South, Stability, Transportation
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 3, 2018
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Report
Community:
Oct 24, 2018
CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is engaged in a number of cross-sector activities focused on developing partnerships, facilitating a community of practice, resource development, promoting best practices, online collaboration, policy and advocacy, and training and education. Read about recent activities in this Fall Update.

Authored by:
Topics: Child welfare, CLPHA, Community development, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Partnerships, Place-based, Post-secondary, Research, Stability, Substance abuse, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 24, 2018

Housing Is Fall 2018 Update

Report
Oct 24, 2018
CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is engaged in a number of cross-sector activities focused on developing partnerships, facilitating a community of practice, resource development, promoting best practices, online collaboration, policy and advocacy, and training and education.
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Research
Community:
Sep 19, 2018
Many social issues stem from a history of unstable, unaffordable, and poor-quality housing. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity for individuals and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community at large. As the gap between rents and incomes widens, it is critical that professionals in fields outside housing—including health, education, and economic development, among others—understand its central importance.

Authored by: Veronica Gaitan for Urban Institute
Topics: Community development, Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Sep 20, 2018

How Housing Can Determine Educational, Health, and Economic Outcomes

Research
Sep 19, 2018
Veronica Gaitan for Urban Institute
Many social issues stem from a history of unstable, unaffordable, and poor-quality housing. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity for individuals and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community at large.
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Report
Community:
Jul 24, 2018
The Affordable Housing Task Force began with an assumption that there was a compelling need to address the changing landscape of housing affordability in Pittsburgh. Through research, discussion, and community and stakeholder engagement, the Task Force has arrived at recommendations that respond to both the assumption and the realities of affordable housing in the city.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Seniors
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 24, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jul 19, 2018
The link between federal housing policy and public health has been understood since the nineteenth century, when housing activists first sought to abolish slums and create healthful environments. This article describes how the Obama administration—building on these efforts and those that followed, including the Great Society programs of President Lyndon Johnson—has adopted a cross-sector approach that takes health considerations into account when formulating housing and community development policy. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development fully embraces this “health in all policies” approach. Nonetheless, the administration’s strategy faces challenges, including fiscal and political ones. Some of these challenges may be overcome by conducting quality research on how housing and community development policies affect health outcomes, and by developing a federal budget strategy that takes into account how investments in one sector contribute to cost savings in another.

Authored by:
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Community development, Disabilities, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Partnerships, Place-based, RAD, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 19, 2018
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Policy Brief
Community:
Jul 17, 2018
The Denver Social Impact Bond program is an initiative aimed at measurably improving the lives of people most in need by driving resources towards better, more effective programs. Social Impact Bonds are a unique type of performance-based contract where private and/or philanthropic lenders loan funds to accomplish a specific objective and are repaid based on whether the program achieves its goals. Denver’s Social Impact Bond program will use funds from lenders to provide housing and supportive case management services to at least 250 homeless individuals who frequently use the city’s emergency services, including police, jail, the courts and emergency rooms.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Cost effectiveness, Criminal justice, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Partnerships, Stability, Substance abuse, West Coast
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 17, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jul 13, 2018
Hospitals Building Healthier Communities aims to provide a resource for hospitals considering adopting or further integrating community engagement and economic development into their daily operations and their core mission.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Data sharing, Health, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 13, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jul 13, 2018
The Conway Center is a project of a nonprofit housing and services organization, So Others Might Eat, and a federally qualified health center, Unity Health Care, in Washington, DC. This $90 million community development initiative will colocate employment training, health care services, and affordable housing under one roof in Ward 7, an area of DC experiencing high poverty and unemployment, and poor health outcomes. The partnership aims to improve access to affordable rental housing, increase livable-wage job attainment, and connect residents to high-quality health care services. Although still under construction, this partnership highlights how a shared vision among community-serving organizations and funders can result in a comprehensive strategy for improving resident health and well-being

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Cost effectiveness, Food insecurity, Health, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Partnerships, Place-based, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 13, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jul 10, 2018
Reducing Pediatric Asthma through Home Improvements and Education

Authored by:
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Community development, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Research, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 10, 2018
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Interactive
Community:
Dec 21, 2017

Authored by: Domenick Lasorsa for the National League of Cities
Topics: Community development, Cost effectiveness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 5, 2018
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Report
Community:
Nov 1, 2017
Why do some neighborhoods appear able to launch effective local improvement initiatives, while others are more hampered by fragmentation and mistrust? Why can some communities mobilize diverse constituencies to influence public policy, while others cannot? Answers to these questions may be found in the specific patterns of collaboration that form among community organizations, and between these groups, schools, public agencies, and elected officials, according to MDRC, a preeminent social-policy research organization.

Authored by: MDRC
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, Community development, Data sharing, Dual-generation, Education, Family engagement, Funding, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Midwest, Mobility, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Research, Safety, Stability, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jun 29, 2018

Network Effectiveness in Community Collaborations: Learning from the Chicago Community Networks Study

Report
Nov 1, 2017
MDRC
Why do some neighborhoods appear able to launch effective local improvement initiatives, while others are more hampered by fragmentation and mistrust? Why can some communities mobilize diverse constituencies to influence public policy, while others cannot?