This report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development examines a survey of 1,340 American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) households in 38 tribal areas to assess housing conditions. The analysis uncovered that AIAN housing conditions were much worse than U.S. households, with overcrowding a severe issue in these communities. The report suggests that limited funding is a key reason for limited housing production among many tribes.

This article looks at GIS, which is a powerful software tool that maps communities and can be helpful in examining racial and economic disparities in communities, and how it could assist in mapping homelessness assistance. GIS is easy to use and can incorporate data on a variety of variables from multiple sources. For example, it can overlay permanent housing destination on top of housing data quality to see if there are racial inequalities at play.

This national issue brief, from the University of New Hampshire Casey School of Public Policy, highlights findings from examining housing challenges in several New England regions through interviews and focus groups. While discussing the effects of affordable housing options, the federal safety net, and the impact of second home owners in tourist economies, the report also provides policy and practice opportunities for the local, state, and federal government.

This brief from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago examines the effects of housing instability in adolescence on the transition to adulthood. The brief, the first in a series, uses evidence to seek solutions to avoid missed opportunities to provide not only housing stability, but also stability in other areas of life including sleep, safety, and education. A lack of credible data about youth who experience homelessness has previously been a barrier, and this brief helps provide credible numbers when looking to address this problem in communities.

Low-income families and people of color often struggle to find safe neighborhoods to live in due to high housing costs and discrimination. These challenges lead to economically segregated neighborhoods that suffer from neglect, inadequate services, and high levels of crime, which prevents residents from moving out of poverty. This report from the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty summarizes the research on the four ways that neighborhoods can negatively impact the lives of their residents: the availability and quality of services, crime and violence, the role of social networks, and access to employment.

This Abt Associates report details evaluation results from Family Self-Sufficiency programs in Lynn and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In these programs, Compass Working Capital partnered with local public housing agencies to provide case management and an escrow savings account to help participants achieve their financial goals. The researchers compared the change in earnings, welfare income, credit scores, and debt over time between program participants and a matched comparison group. Participants experienced an average gain of $6,305 in household income between 2010 and 2016 and a decline of $496 in annual welfare income. Credit scores also increased an average of 23 points for participants, and their total debt decreased by an average of $764.

Domestic violence survivors often face challenges when trying to secure safe and affordable housing. This special collection from VAWnet provides resources to help providers of services pertaining to sexual assault, homelessness, and housing serve the housing needs of domestic violence survivors. The collection starts by describing the intersection between domestic violence and homelessness, especially for survivors of color. Next, the collection provides case studies illustrating partnerships between domestic violence organizations and affordable housing providers, and supplies four key strategies for helping addressing survivors’ barriers to safe housing. The collection also includes relevant public policies and statistics on the intersection between domestic and sexual violence, housing, and homelessness.

This MDRC report highlights early findings from the Jobs Plus Pilot Program Evaluation, which provides employment services for public housing residents. This study focuses on how the nine Public Housing Authorities selected as grantees implemented their four-year grant programs. In the first 18 months of the grant, all nine sites had begun implementing their programs and developing a variety of partnerships and employment services. The researchers found that the employment services offered were often generic and not tailored to individual needs, and that grantees needed more guidance on how to develop community support for work. Grantees voiced a need for more technical assistance in implementation, including clearer guidance and program standards.

This study from the Wisconsin HOPE Lab was designed to help practitioners and policymakers understand the extent of food and housing insecurity at different community colleges across the country. The researchers analyzed data from 33,000 community college students at 70 community colleges in 24 states. They found that two-thirds of students were food insecure, about half of students were housing insecure, and about 13-14% were homeless. There was very little geographic variation in the hunger and homelessness that community college students experienced, but former foster youth experienced homelessness at a higher rate than other community college students. The researchers recommend improvements in policy and practice to ensure the basic needs of community college students are met.