National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), a member of the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign Roundtable, released an action guide demonstrating the connections between fair housing and health outcomes. The report, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing as a Tool to Further Health Equity,” highlights the increasing importance of social determinants of health to improved health outcomes and explains how the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) mandate can be used to address longstanding racial inequities in access to places that provide the best conditions for healthy living. The report provides guidance to healthcare entities and fair housing stakeholders on building relationships between sectors and aligning their work in advancement of equitable housing and neighborhood opportunity and health outcomes. Read the report here.
For healthcare entities, the report provides an overview of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) mandate and outlines steps to align their work with fair housing stakeholders to build community health improvement partnerships. The guide also gives fair housing stakeholders an introduction to community health needs assessments (CHNAs) and guidance to engage and build relationships with healthcare entities. The report features case studies, evidence-based approaches, and recommendations from practitioners who have facilitated successful partnerships.
The report was created in collaboration with Health Management Associates to outline the parallels between the goals of AFFH and CHNAs, including the requirement to allocate resources to best meet community needs. A CHNA provides state and local health entities and community members with detailed information about a specific community’s health status, needs, and assets. The assessment serves as a guide to decide where resources should be allocated and can be combined with AFFH and broader health planning processes to create an intersectional approach to addressing fair housing issues and their health impacts.
The report concludes with a call to action, stating that “aligning fair housing and healthcare community health planning, investments, and strategies will accelerate health benefits for communities and quickly bring more planning efforts into action. Community members have provided input and recommendations through these community processes for many years, not always seeing improved health conditions or improved health outcomes. It is our responsibility to leverage our community health, healthcare, and AFFH data to drive toward the elimination of racism and improved health outcomes.”
Read the report here.