Publication

Moving Families Forward: Initial Findings from a Two-Generation Program in Bangor, Maine

Publication
Sep 20, 2020
Susan Popkin for URBAN INSTITUTE
Since late 2017, the Urban Institute’s Housing Opportunities and Services Together team has partnered with public housing authority BangorHousing and the Boys & Girls Club of Bangor, Maine, in a formative evaluation of Families Forward, a locally designed and funded two-generation program that b

Smoke-Free Public Housing Compliance and Enforcement Toolkit

Publication
Oct 3, 2019
Clean Air for All
A majority of property managers report that a smoke-free policy is largely well followed and self enforced by residents and staff. However, it is not uncommon for a small minority of residents to struggle or refuse to comply by continuing to smoke or allowing their guests to smoke on the property.

How Zoning Shapes our Lives

Publication
Jun 12, 2019
Maya Brennan, Emily Peiffer, and Kimberly Burrowes for How Housing Matters, The Urban Institute
Zoning rules dictate more than just how we can use and build on land. They also shape our communities and our lives. Land use laws determine where we can find housing, schools, and parks—and who has access to them.

Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustment Would Make Poverty Line a Less Accurate Measure of Basic Needs

Publication
Jun 11, 2019
Arloc Sherman and Paul Van de Water for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Trump Administration is publicly weighing plans to gradually lower the official poverty line by applying a smaller cost-of-living adjustment each year. Doing so would be unjustified for several reasons.

2019 Building A Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Raising High School Graduation Rates

Publication
Jun 11, 2019
Civic and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Education
Authored by Civic and the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and released annually in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education and America’s Promise Alliance, the Building a Grad Nation report examines both progress and challenges toward reach

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Initiatives to Make SNAP Benefits More Adequate Significantly Improve Food Security, Nutrition, and Health

Publication
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
This paper analyzes why SNAP benefits are inadequate, reviews the body of research showing positive effects from more adequate SNAP benefits, and offers key policy solutions to improve benefit adequacy.

Tricks of the Trade: Advice from a Higher Education Basic Needs Navigator

Publication
May 1, 2019
Miguel Arellano Sanchez for SchoolHouse Connection
Navigating college as a first-generation college student can feel like making your way through a maze with no map, filled with “learn as you go” lessons, and “wow, I wish I knew this then.” When you combine it with being low-income, homeless, and/or food insecure, it can feel like you’re navigating