One of the most fulfilling things I ever did in my life was the six years I spent on the Board of a Virginia supportive housing agency, which built supportive housing and provided services in the Richmond area when I joined the BoD, and by the time I rolled off had fully deployed Housing First principles state-wide in its housing development work. The org took over existing buildings - a brewery, a bottling factory, a motel that had become Crack/Prostitution Central, other commercial building footprints/exterior walls - and repurposed them into studio apts with supportive services for tenants. I learned so much from that time, really baked in my already established thinking that stable housing was the prime solution for most problems that wind up as "mental health" or "SUD" diagnoses.
I don't know how I found your blog, but well done! One aspect of this that I think about is that the cost of housing, even above the affordable housing level, can be a source of mental stress, as well. The homes that cost so much that both heads of household (or more than just two people in the house) need to work means that they don't have the freedom to perhaps take a pay cut or stop working altogether when life gets busy, a family member gets ill, etc. And with the possible recession coming/ here, the loss of a job can create all sorts of mental health challenges as well. Can you imagine the worry if one or both of the payors of a mortgage/ rent are at risk of losing a job? Because like you note in your post, even if they decide to sell their house, for example, will they even be able to find something more affordable/ less expensive? The provision of affordable housing is not just a mental health concern for those at or below the poverty line... the availability of attainable housing at all levels creates mental health concerns that impact everyone.
Yes to all of this! As you said, it is just common sense and well documented in MH research. What's even more maddening is that there are landlords out there refusing to participate in the rent relief programs. Not trying to spam you here, but if you are interested, read the Eviction Moratorium section of this post and the links from a couple of weeks ago to learn more. https://chaiselounge.substack.com/p/the-free-lunch-debate-is-about-so
One of the most fulfilling things I ever did in my life was the six years I spent on the Board of a Virginia supportive housing agency, which built supportive housing and provided services in the Richmond area when I joined the BoD, and by the time I rolled off had fully deployed Housing First principles state-wide in its housing development work. The org took over existing buildings - a brewery, a bottling factory, a motel that had become Crack/Prostitution Central, other commercial building footprints/exterior walls - and repurposed them into studio apts with supportive services for tenants. I learned so much from that time, really baked in my already established thinking that stable housing was the prime solution for most problems that wind up as "mental health" or "SUD" diagnoses.
I don't know how I found your blog, but well done! One aspect of this that I think about is that the cost of housing, even above the affordable housing level, can be a source of mental stress, as well. The homes that cost so much that both heads of household (or more than just two people in the house) need to work means that they don't have the freedom to perhaps take a pay cut or stop working altogether when life gets busy, a family member gets ill, etc. And with the possible recession coming/ here, the loss of a job can create all sorts of mental health challenges as well. Can you imagine the worry if one or both of the payors of a mortgage/ rent are at risk of losing a job? Because like you note in your post, even if they decide to sell their house, for example, will they even be able to find something more affordable/ less expensive? The provision of affordable housing is not just a mental health concern for those at or below the poverty line... the availability of attainable housing at all levels creates mental health concerns that impact everyone.
Yes to all of this! As you said, it is just common sense and well documented in MH research. What's even more maddening is that there are landlords out there refusing to participate in the rent relief programs. Not trying to spam you here, but if you are interested, read the Eviction Moratorium section of this post and the links from a couple of weeks ago to learn more. https://chaiselounge.substack.com/p/the-free-lunch-debate-is-about-so