Affordable Housing Shortage Threatens Children’s Health

Housing impacts all aspects of life from education, to health, to economic success and mobility. Poor housing quality and housing instability negatively affect both physical and mental health. 

In 1999, a group of pediatricians concerned about the link between inadequate housing and children’s health, The Doc4Kids Project, and housing advocacy group Housing America, released a study titled There’s No Place Like Home: How America’s Housing Crisis Threatens Our Children. Family Housing Fund published this two-page summary to accompany the report. 

The study found that the national housing shortage continued to worsen, resulting in poor quality housing that puts children at risk for asthma, allergies, disease, and injury. Families are forced to make tradeoffs between paying for their housing and paying for healthy food, leading to anemia, stunted growth, and other health problems. 

Considering the critical impact of housing on health, the study provided recommendations to Congress to increase the supply of affordable housing through a number of activities, including increasing Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, increasing the availability of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and preserving federally subsidized housing.