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Rx for Hunger: Affordable Housing

December 3, 2009

This report by Children's HealthWatch and the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston finds that housing plays a significant role in protecting young children from food insecurity and the health risks of being seriously underweight. This report confirms that increased support for subsidized housing must be part of the strategy for ending childhood hunger.

Funding Shortfall for Housing Vouchers Could Have Serious Health Consequences for Children

September 28, 2009

In the fourth brief in its Policy Action series, Children's HealthWatch finds that unaffordable housing endangers the health and development of young children. Due to a federal funding shortfall, state and local housing agencies will be forced to reduce or eliminate rental assitance to thousands of families starting this month. Voucher cuts will push more families into the ranks of the "hidden homeless" -- families that move frequently, crowd into apartments that are too small, or live doubled up with other households when they cannot find affordable housing. Children in hidden homeless families are at increased risk for poor health, nutrition, and growth, as well as developmental delays. Timely Congressional action to protect the Housing Choice Voucher Program will ensure that families have stable, affordable housing essential to children's health.

Bringing Children in from the Cold: Solutions for Boston's Hidden Homeless

October 31, 2008

This report describes a population of "hidden homeless" families and new research showing that children in these families are more likely to be hungry and in poor health. Unrecorded by any homeless census, these families move frequently, often into overcrowded apartments, or double up with another family never knowing how long they can stay. The report estimates that there are over 14,800 hidden homeless families in Boston and that this number is likely to grow as the economy declines.