Housing can impact a family’s health through poorly built/maintained dwellings, lack of access to clean air and water, and proximity and access to quality schools, healthcare, and other resources. In fact, research has shown that housing conditions and access to services may account for as much as 80% of a person’s health status. A recent survey of the nation’s mayors indicates that housing affordability and homelessness are their top concerns. Housing affordability is increasingly a problem for all sectors and all regions.

 

The healthcare sector understands and appreciates the role healthy housing plays in positive health outcomes for families. Across the nation, Aetna invested $26 million in an $80 million 192-apartment community that features a 24-hour fitness center and an on-site community clinic; Kaiser Permanente has committed to $400 million to fund affordable housing to build or preserve 30,000 units by 2030; and a national coalition representing 70 health care systems, Healthcare Anchor Network, has invested $450 million in affordable housing project since 2017.

 

Locally, in 2019, the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI) secured a public pledge from six Atlanta healthcare organizations to support affordable housing. Grady Health System, Kaiser Permanente, Piedmont Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health System/Mercy Care, CareSource Georgia, and WellStar Health Systems pledged to provide resources, influence, and expertise to support affordable housing around the region. Since signing the pledge, St. Joseph’s/Mercy Care has provided $4.7 million to support the construction of McAuley Place, a new 170-unit affordable apartment community. CareSource Georgia provided nonprofit developer ANDP a $2.5 million low-interest loan for affordable housing development.

 

Are more investments on the horizon? Perhaps. But the sector is also at an inflection point. Last month, the nonpartisan group Convergence released a report on initial conversations with the healthcare industry detailing the challenges in cross-sector collaboration. Convergence, which works to build trust and bridge divides to solve critical challenges, notes, “Despite the desire to do so, it remains difficult to deploy public and private resources strategically across sectors to achieve health and other social goals, such as health equity.”

 

Join us at the June 5 Atlanta Regional Housing Forum as we discuss potential affordable housing investments from the healthcare industry – and changes needed in both public and private sectors to build impactful and sustained collaborations. 

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