The impact that a safe, affordable home has on a person’s physical growth and well-being is clear when families are able to move out of unstable, unsanitary environments. Beyond reduced exposure to allergens, toxins and cold, however, there is a greater benefit: the effect that housing stability has on a person’s mental health.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified home improvement as one of six evidence-based, high-impact solutions for addressing social determinants of health. Improving housing quality improves general health status, respiratory health, mental health and reduces the risk of injury. One study based in New York City found that in the two years following an eviction, people were more likely to require hospitalization for a mental health condition than those who had not been evicted.