The nation's housing crisis is also a health crisis - especially for children. When families lose stable housing, children lose the bedrock that anchors them to schools, neighborhoods, medical services, child care and social services, often with serious consequences for their health.
As of today, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City is closing the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) because it has enough applicants for the next 12 months. In other words, families who need stable housing have to wait at least a year before getting onto a waiting list.
A recent story about a Baltimore family illustrates how central housing is to children's health, and why in any plan for financial recovery or economic stimulus, housing needs to be part of the discussion.
The Growth and Nutrition Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Medicine treats children who are severely underweight and therefore at risk for multiple health and developmental problems. At a recent visit, 6-year-old Brandi and her 7-year-old brother, Keonte, who are both severely underweight with long histories of poor growth, had each gained more than 2 pounds over two months - more than they had gained in the preceding year. The children radiated enthusiasm as they arrived wearing clean, neatly pressed school uniforms and sporting wide smiles.
What was the "treatment" that resulted in this success? Their move to Section 8 housing.
The children's parents have been lost to the drug world, and their grandmother recently died of liver disease; they are in the care of their 65-year-old, disabled great-grandmother, Carolyn Beane. With few resources, the family moved twice in the past year, ultimately crowding into a friend's house. They were discouraged by the long waiting list for housing. The children's weight faltered, and the lack of basic resources, such as table and chairs, made it difficult to follow our recommendations, including eating together to model positive mealtime behaviors.
When their housing application was approved, the family moved to their own home in the Clifton Park area. The children were excited to each have their own rooms. The security of a home alleviated the stress and anxiety of the family's near-homelessness and enabled Ms. Beane to attend to the details of daily life - establishing routines, making healthy family meals they could enjoy together around a table, and ensuring that the children were prepared for school each day. A safe, secure home led to emotional changes in the family, enabling them to build the daily mealtime routines that led to the children's healthy weight gain and propelled them onto a positive growth trajectory.
