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Affordable Home has Positive Effect on Health

Affordable housing may improve health outcomes by freeing up family resources for nutritious food and health care expenditures.

Families paying excessive amounts of their income for housing often have insufficient funds remaining to meet other essential needs, including food, medical insurance and health care. These tradeoffs threaten the health of their children. Several studies have found that children in low-income families that do not receive housing subsidies are more likely to suffer from iron deficiencies, malnutrition and underdevelopment than children in similar families receiving housing assistance.

Other studies have found a correlation between the general affordability of housing and the health of children—particularly older children—suggesting the positive health impacts of housing affordability may accumulate over time. By helping increase the amount of residual income available to families for food, health care and other essential expenses, affordable housing can improve children’s well-being.

Source: A study by the Center for Housing Policy and Enterprise Community Partners that can be found at www.nhc.com. Above is one of nine premises the study found. Other premises will appear in upcoming newsletters.

 

 

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