The Fundamental Link: Access to Stable, Affordable Housing Improves Health and Wellbeing
The Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP) is a multi-year initiative to measure and improve the quality of life in Santa Cruz County and is now in its 23rd year. This year’s community assessment consisted of an in-depth telephone survey (conducted in both English and Spanish) in the spring of 2017 of nearly 800 local residents. For the first time, the survey sought housing status information, allowing the variety of survey topics covered to be considered from the lens of renters in the community.
Research offers evidence supporting a powerful link between stable, affordable housing and positive health outcomes; the implications of which are encouraging for community well-being.
Access to affordable housing allows residents to spend more of their money on other critical expenses such as food and health care, and to spend less of their time worrying about housing. Additionally these households have reduced risk for a range of negative health outcomes commonly associated with unaffordable and unstable housing (e.g., stress, anxiety, and disease).
Beyond health-related outcomes, housing stability is critical to the social fabric of the neighborhoods that make up our community. Safe, stable and affordable housing provides people an increased sense of place where they are more likely to invest in their home, neighbors and work to improve their community, in turn strengthening social bonds and enhancing civic participation.
Author:
Applied Survey Research
Resource Date:
2017
Resource Type:
Topics:
URL:
https://public.tableau.com/views/CAP23-SpecialHousingDashboard/HousingSpecialReportDashboard?:embed=y&:display_count=yes&:showVizHome=no