Housing Insecurity - Strategies identifying stakeholders

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Running head: Housing Insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders i Housing Insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions & partnerships for influencing public health outcomes Abdul Wali Shahzad Eastern Washington University Presented to the Master of Public Health Program Of Eastern Washington University In fulfillment of the requirements for the course PUBH 565-A50: Health Equity and Advocacy Dr. Brandon Eggleston March 25, 2023

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders ii Contents Background………...……………………………………………………...………………………1 Problem Statement….…………………………………………………………………………….2 Housing insecurity & systemic racism……………………………………………………………3 Strategies to identify stakeholders…...…….………………………………………………….…..5 Conclusion…… ..... ………………………………………….………..…………………………...6 References …………………………………………………………………………..…………….7

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 1 Background Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks. The type of housing and neighborhoods is one of the important aspects of social determinants of health. The houses and neighborhoods people live in have a major impact on their health and well-being. Many people in the United States live in houses with which are unsafe and neighborhoods with high rates of violence, unsafe air or water, and other health and safety risks. Racial/ethnic minorities and people with low incomes are more likely to live in places with these risks. We can categorize people based on their housing and neighborhoods in five types: 1) People living in safe houses and safe neighborhoods 2) People living in unsafe houses in safe neighborhoods 3) People living in unsafe houses in unsafe neighborhoods 4) People living in safe houses in unsafe neighborhoods 5) People having no houses (living in shelter or unsheltered) Housing insecurity is the lack of security caused by high housing costs relative to income, poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, or overcrowding. Right now, we’re seeing an increase in housing insecurity due to high housing costs especially, which is when housing expenses take up more than 30% of a household’s monthly income. Housing insecurity can affect anyone, but disproportionately affect lower income families, as they often have to pay higher proportions of their income on high-cost rent. During the pandemic crisis, lost wages and increased

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Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 2 unemployment has made it harder for households to pay rent and bills. This has been compounded by an increase in housing costs and fewer homes and apartments on the market has made it difficult for many to find affordably priced housing. Problem Statement Housing insecurity is a real, persistent, and growing problem with implications for people’s education, health, and well-being. Housing Insecurity, like food insecurity can look like many different things. It can mean living in a home with too many people sharing a space, or a home that has no heating in the winter. It can mean moving to new houses or apartments every few months, or sharing one home with another family. Most seriously, housing insecurity means experiencing homelessness, which can be living in shelters or cars, couch surfing, or living outdoors in a tent. In 2019, about 37 million households or 1 in 5 homeowners and nearly half of renters were cost-burdened, reflecting a decline of 3 percent from the 38 million households in the previous year according to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University . Households with incomes below $25,000 accounted for 46 percent of cost-burdened households. Older Americans (age 65 and older) were more likely to be cost-burdened, accounting for about a quarter of such households. Moreover, non-white households accounted for 43 percent of cost-burdened households despite only making up 32 percent of total households, which reflects in part a history of housing discrimination experienced by people of color (pgpf, 2021). Housing insecurity can take a number of forms: homelessness; housing cost burden; residential instability; evictions and other forced moves; living with family or friends to share housing costs;

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 3 overcrowding; living in substandard, poor-quality housing; or living in neighborhoods that are unsafe and lack access to transportation, jobs, quality schools, and other critical amenities Housing insecurity and systemic racism Low housing equity (due to small down payments and modest median home values) translates to less overall wealth for both black and Hispanic households, which rely more heavily on their homes to accumulate wealth. Black households have nearly 57% of their net worth tied in the value of their homes, while Hispanic homeowners carry about 67% of their wealth in their homes. As a share of net worth, housing amounts to only 41% for white homeowners. The Urban Institute also states that people of color are more likely than white people to lose wealth during economic downturns through job layoffs and home foreclosures. “Housing security is a matter of justice, as structural racism puts communities of color unfairly at risk of being rent burdened or homeless,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during a webinar hosted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Housing inequality and segregation was the norm in the 20th century, even if the Fair Housing Act of 1968 sought to erase racial discrimination. The Great Depression, which led to the establishment of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and the still operational Federal Housing Administration (FHA), prompted a “two-tier approach” to housing. The latter promoted residential segregation. It did so by shunning investments in city areas where people of color lived and by placing so-called restrictive covenants to keep middle-class neighborhoods white. After the passage of the Housing Act of 1937, low-income public housing projects mushroomed in inner cities, replacing slums and consolidating “minority neighborhoods.” Major road

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 4 construction and suburbanization further segregated American cities. At the same time, black Americans as well as other citizens of color found it extremely hard to qualify for home loans, as the FHA and the Veterans Administration’s mortgage programs largely served only white applicants. Those discriminatory practices prevented people of color from accumulating wealth through homeownership (Williams, 2020). Strategies to identify stakeholders As we all know the seriousness of housing insecurity, it is important to look for and identify key and potential stakeholders, identify their interests and build a strong coalition and partnership and work together with them to reach a solution to minimize this calamity. To change this situation, first we have to identify the stakeholders at various levels. Our primary stakeholders are the people who are directly and negatively affected by the housing insecurity. They are people who are either living in poor quality or crowded houses, spending much of their income on rents or don’t have any houses at all. On the other hand, landlords can also be our stakeholders because they are on the other side of the equation. For example, if we make a rent-policy in favor of the renters, it will benefit the tenant but will negatively affect the landlord. The secondary stakeholders are directly involved with or responsible for beneficiaries or targets of the effort. These might include individuals and organization that live with, are close to, or care for the people affected by housing insecurity. Among these we might find parents, spouses, siblings, children, other family members or friends. We can talk to them, find out about their financial and job status, and identify if they are willing to mentally and financially support their family members living in harsh conditions. Employers are another area to look for. Paying reasonable salaries, initiating worker assistance programs, providing health insurance can all

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Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 5 help with better housing. Contractors and developers who build houses is another major stakeholder. Schools are another area we can focus on and find stakeholders. Teachers can help identify students with low-income parents and students having medical or mental problems. Work on a program in collaboration with schools to provide scholarships for low-income students, pay special attention to their lunches and no student turned away due to financial need. Other stakeholders include doctors and other medical professionals, particularly primary care providers, social worker and psychotherapists, health and human service organizations, community volunteers, Police and other law or regulation enforcement agencies and landlords. The most important area focusing on is identifying the key stakeholders. These are the people who can devise, pass, and enforce laws and regulations. Federal and state or provincial representatives, senators, members of parliament, etc. They can introduce laws and generally control budgets at the federal and state or provincial levels. Governors, mayors, city/town councilors, selectmen, etc. The government agencies are the executive branches. They carry out laws, administer budgets and generally run the show. They can contribute greatly to the success of the program. Local board members such as boards of health, planning, zoning, etc., through their power to issue permits and regulations, can be crucial allies. The medical board can identify the serious health issues related housing insecurity, the environmental agency can point out the environmental and safety issues. Policy makers who often have no official power but their opinion and ideas are often followed closely. Having them on our side is a big plus. The media is another major branch to focus on. Media plays crucial role in delivering the news to the public.

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 6 Conclusion Housing insecurity is a devastating reality and widespread desensitization is present to this crisis. Increasing collaboration between stakeholders in the public and private sector to build an interconnected housing network, and ensuring no individual or family is left behind can help to relive the problem eventually. Other beneficial methods are expanding current financial coaching and education programs for families, guaranteeing access to legal counsel for tenants in eviction cases, providing workshops to educate landlords and provide resources (Rizal, et al., 2020).

Housing insecurity: Strategies to identify stakeholders 7 References Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (2021, October 8). Housing insecurity: What is the federal government doing to prevent evictions during the pandemic ? Retrieved March 20, 2023 from https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2021/10/housing-insecurity-what-is-the-federal- government-doing-to-prevent-evictions-during-the-pandemic Rabinowitz, P. (n.d.). Identifying and analyzing stakeholders and their interests . Community Tool Box. Retrieved March 25, 2023 from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement/identify- stakeholders/main Rizel, D., Maxwell, H., Flynn, M., Worrall, M., Akintewe, M., Holland, R., and Marcus, J. (2020). The Angeleno journey: Housing insecurity to housing stability . Los Angeles Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved March 25, 2023 from https://sdg.lamayor.org/our-work/projects/angeleno-journey-housing-insecurity-housing- stability Williams, D. (2020, June 03). A look at housing inequality and racism in the U.S . Forbes. Retrieved March 20, 2023 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/dimawilliams/2020/06/03/in-light-of-george-floyd-protests- a-look-at-housing-inequality/?sh=7a944b8539ef

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