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Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health

June 1, 2015

New research from Children's HealthWatch illustrates there is no safe level of homelessness. The timing (pre-natal, post-natal) and duration of homelessness (more or less than six months) compounds the risk of harmful child health outcomes. The younger and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll of negative health outcomes, which can have lifelong effects on the child, the family, and the community.Researchers from Children's HealthWatch collected data from over 20,000 caregivers of low-income children under the age of four with public or no health insurance. These caregivers were interviewed in urban pediatric clinics and emergency departments in five U.S. cities from 2009 through 2014. Interview data were analyzed to assess children's health and development and to compare outcomes for children who experienced homelessness at some point in their lives with children who were never homeless.

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.

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.