Housing Is


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. 
 
What Is Housing Is?
Housing Is 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:

Housing Is 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 Connectivity:

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. PHAs are uniquely well-positioned to help advance digital connectivity given that they house and provide services to some of our nation’s lowest-income and most disconnected families. 

 

Learn more about our digital connectivity initiatives.

Housing Is-Related News
10.8.20
From the Chicago Tribune: Hundreds of school-age children in suburban Cook County public housing will get free laptops paid for by federal coronavirus stimulus money starting Wednesday, as part of an ongoing effort to ensure digital access after the COVID-19 pandemic upended in-person learning.
10.7.20
OCHA is Transforming Public Housing to Meet the Needs of Their Oldest Low-Income Residents
10.7.20
From the Afterschool Alliance:
10.7.20
From the Toledo Blade: As Toledo Public Schools prepares to reopen its doors to students, community agencies and district officials have teamed up to open community learning centers that will help combat issues associated with virtual learning and a lack of resources as a result of the pandemic. TPS officials and community leaders announced Thursday the launch of its first learning...
10.7.20
From the Toledo Blade: The Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority has extended its Home to Stay program, which provides additional assistance to financially vulnerable residents, for another year in hopes of keeping people housed while the coronavirus pandemic continues and cold months lie ahead. 
10.7.20
From the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's press release: Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) CEO Tracey Scott, , Alderman Michelle A Harris (8th Ward), Senator Elgie Sims (17th District), and other local and regional leaders today joined MR Properties, LLC for the grand opening of the Montclare Senior Residents of Calumet Heights. The 134-unit, seven-story new construction...
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

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

Click here to learn more about our funders.

Learn more about Housing Is at housingis.org

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