NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign released an updated fact sheet, “Economic Mobility and Anti-Poverty Advocates are Housing Advocates,” highlighting the effects of affordable housing on economic mobility for low-income households. Research consistently shows that where a person lives significantly impacts their ability to achieve upward mobility. Affordable housing programs that offer educational support, provide individualized services, and build relationships between participants and staff are found to be the most successful in supporting upward mobility. Increasing access to affordable housing is also found to be a cost-effective strategy for reducing childhood poverty. Developed in collaboration with key partners, including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – a member of OSAH’s Steering Committee – the updated fact sheet highlights foundational and new research findings. The fact sheet also calls for policy solutions to expand access to affordable housing in well-resourced neighborhoods of a household’s choice.
In total, the OSAH campaign has posted 16 multi-sector fact sheets to its website. Each fact sheet compiles landmark research to help policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public understand the deep connections between housing and other national priorities such as healthcare, education, and economic growth. Advocates are encouraged to download these fact sheets to help them reach out to potential allies in other fields to make the case for cross-sector collaboration. To broaden the movement for housing justice, we must ensure allies in other sectors fully appreciate the extent to which housing influences their own priorities and goals.
Read “Economic Mobility and Anti-Poverty Advocates are Housing Advocates” and see the full list of fact sheets here.