Background

A stable, healthy, and affordable home provides a foundation for well-being and prosperity for children, families and communities. Stable housing can positively affect a broad spectrum of outcomes for children and families, including academic performance, physical, and mental health. Families that struggle to achieve or maintain housing stability are at elevated risk for a wide range of poor child outcomes, including child abuse and neglect. Disentangling the risk factors for child maltreatment and housing instability, such as including crowding, eviction, and homelessness, is difficult and requires a multi-system approach.

The Housing Opportunities Made to Enhance Stability (HOMES) initiative began when Children’s Community Health Navigators and Well-Being Assessment programs both identified housing as a needed resource and driver of well-being outcomes in the populations they served. HOMES is focused on developing partnerships across health, child welfare, housing and other systems to integrate and streamline services and policies to support stable housing for families facing complex challenges.

HOMES is engaging the community through community cafes, surveys, and other resident participation, to establish partnerships across health care, child welfare, housing, and other systems. The HOMES team will combine this feedback with research and other evidence to advance program changes at Children’s and broader policy solutions that support stable housing for families.

Team

Gabriel McGaughey

Gabe Doyle

Peter Power

Bregetta Wilson

Fiona Weeks

Robert Walker

Christie Guertin

Penelope Dixon

Christopher Morgan

Myra Werner

Kate Angers

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