Housing Is Initiative


 

We Envision... Celebrating 10 Years of CLPHA's Housing Is Initiative

In 2024 the Housing Is Initiative is celebrating our tenth anniversary. To mark this milestone, we are releasing We Envision..., a comprehensive report reflecting on the Initiative's accomplishments and looking towards the future of cross-sector partnerships that improve life outcomes.

 

Read the Report

 
CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative helps build a future where systems work together to improve life outcomes for low-income people.

Housing Is helps broaden and deepen efforts to align housing, education, and health organizations to produce positive long-term outcomes for those experiencing poverty. Collaboration across systems and sectors—through shared goals, focused resources, and coordinated efforts—strengthens our collective ability to serve the needs of low-income individuals and families effectively and efficiently.

Public housing offers many low-income children, families, and seniors critical stability, but fragmented service delivery systems and siloed policymaking often fail to address social determinants of low-income individuals and families holistically. This often results in stagnant effectiveness and costly inefficiencies.

CLPHA leads the affordable housing industry as a convener of partners across sectors who are committed to aligning different systems and developing interdisciplinary programs to address a variety of essential needs in communities across the country. From promoting data sharing and shared accountability to encouraging cross-sector training and evidence-based interventions, our work fosters improved, sustained alignment and collaboration.

Our Work
Housing Is Education:

CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative recognizes the key role public housing authorities can play in a variety of educational efforts benefiting both low-income children and adults. Research has shown that housing stability has a significant impact on children’s school performance and long-term outcomes, such as graduation rates and post-secondary activities. Housing authorities are actively exploring how they can align with and add value to local approaches that aim to improve educational outcomes.

 

Learn more about our education initiatives. 

 

Housing Is Health:

Public housing residents are not only economically disenfranchised, but also experience higher rates of chronic conditions and diagnoses such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and anxiety/depression. PHAs and their health partners can improve low-income people’s health and wellbeing by enhancing built environments, providing preventative health resources, and increasing access to healthcare services.

 

Learn more about our health initiatives.

 

Housing Is Digital Equity:

As our world’s reliance on technology continues to grow, achieving digital equity and bridging the digital divide for disadvantaged populations becomes more and more critical. The digital divide disproportionately affects low-income households and contributes to racial inequities that have long plagued Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) communities. PHAs are uniquely well-positioned to help advance digital equity given that they house and provide services to some of our nation’s lowest-income and most disconnected families. 

 

Learn more about our digital equity initiatives.

Housing Is-Related News
9.12.19
From WHYY: Chester’s Ruth Bennett Community Farm is a vibrant oasis in a desert of dull brick and lifeless concrete. Tucked below Interstate 95 at the top of a cul-de-sac, the 2-acre farm teems with life: organic produce, wildflowers, and a host of winged insects that flutter between the two. “This is like a resurrection of life here,” assistant manager Malik Savage said...
9.12.19
From Education Dive: The Stable Homes Stable Schools initiative — launched in May to help Minneapolis Public Schools students and their families pay rent and maintain consistent housing while also offering wraparound services — already has 125 families with 396 children enrolled in the program and hopes to attract more than 600 students, the Minnesota Daily reported.
9.12.19
From the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles' (HACLA) press release:
9.12.19
From Oregon Public Broadcasting: On Monday, Vancouver and Washington state officials gathered alongside community members to celebrate the grand opening of Caples Terrace, a new public housing project offering affordable units to young adults who have aged out of foster care or fallen into homelessness. Christina LaCelle, 20, could barely contain her excitement. She and her 3-month...
9.12.19
From West Seattle Blog: For the fourth consecutive year, West Seattle Elementary students got a first-day-of-school welcome like no other: The “Be There Rally.” 2016 was the first time community members were invited to greet and inspire the students. The event has continued growing in size and reputation, and this year drew more citywide dignitaries than ever. More on them later. First – WSE...
9.12.19
From the San Bernardino Sun: The rectangular room is immaculate, with something to explore at every turn. Between the gray walls are areas to read, color, play, write and listen. Rugs for napping and bean bags for lounging rest on the hardwood floors. Not a book nor crayon is out of place on a recent weekday – it’s the calm before the storm.
Partner with Us

If you and your organization would like to learn how to join us in cross-system efforts, please reach out to us at housingis@clpha.org, and join the Housing Is Clearinghouse at housingis.org.

Special Thanks

The Housing Is Initiative is thankful to our foundation partners who make this cross-system work possible. 

Click here to learn more about our funders.

Learn more about the Housing Is Initiative at housingis.org

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