Extreme heat predicted for Friday July 12 -Sunday July 14. The City of Denver has opened cooling centers at all rec centers during normal operating hours. Stay in the shade, drink water, and stay safe!
Extreme heat predicted for Friday July 12 -Sunday July 14. The City of Denver has opened cooling centers at all rec centers during normal operating hours. Stay in the shade, drink water, and stay safe!
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Housing is a social determinant of health1. Affordable, quality housing options are crucial to individual health and building healthy communities. The lack of a safe, accessible, and affordable home can severely impact physical and mental health.
Affordable homes are necessary for individual and public health, particularly for children.
The affordability, stability, quality, accessibility, and safety of housing are key determinants of children’s well-being and outcomes later in life. Healthy homes make for healthier children. Housing insecurity generates many stressors for families with children.
When housing is unaffordable, a person or family’s ability to live a healthy life is severely jeopardized.
“The connection between housing and health is nuanced. Families with children who live close to Interstate 70 in Denver not only pay for housing costs, but those children often have asthma and costly medical bills that compound costs for the family.”13 —Ashlie Brown, Colorado Health Institute Director
The positive impacts of housing on health cannot be overstated. Denver’s Social Impact Bond program demonstrated that when people have access to quality affordable housing, emergency department visits decreased by 40 percent and preventative health care visits increased by 155 percent.
Access to housing must be considered when crafting health policy. Policy solutions may include:
Investing in high-quality, affordable housing is an essential strategy for preventing long-term health problems, particularly for low-income households.
From better health to food security to good education, housing is foundational to every aspect of well-being, building stronger communities, promoting economic growth, and providing opportunities for everyone to thrive. Our Colorado-based, multi-sector coalition is working in coordination with the National Low-Income Housing Coalition to generate widespread support for local, state, and federal policies that correct long-standing racial inequities and economic injustices that have prevented access to affordable, quality housing for people with low incomes