Innovative collaborations between health care providers and housing organizations focused on combatting homelessness continue to improve health outcomes and lower costs, however regulatory and legal barriers remain, according to a new report released by the National Housing Conference (NHC).
Funded by a grant from the Kresge Foundation, the National Housing Conference (NHC) convened a series of health and housing working group meetings to bring together practitioners from both the nonprofit and for-profit affordable housing sphere with health care organizations. The objective was to explore practical and actionable ways that housing developers can work together with health systems and managed care organizations to build new affordable housing units while reducing unreimbursed medical costs in high-cost populations. Over the course of nine months, the group worked to identify the necessary next steps in order to foster more direct investment by health organizations in affordable housing, while identifying challenges that continue to require mitigating strategies.
A public health professional, a housing authority director, and a funder discussed how a Health Impact Assessment moved a Phoenix public housing rehab project from business-as-usual to an inclusive process that engages a neighborhood and charts a sustainable future for the residents.
