Housing Instability Impacts Family Members of All Ages

Last year, 65% of Interfaith clients recently experiencing homelessness had children in the household.

A stable “now” helps create a stable future, and unstable or low-quality housing affects family members at any age – mentally and physically.

EARLY YEARS
Living in poor-quality housing and disadvantaged neighborhoods is associated with lower kindergarten readiness scores. (housingmatters.urban.org)

SCHOOL AGE
Eviction alone can create instability in a child’s life that interferes with education, starting with absences while the family searches for new housing, which then lead to lower test scores and grades. (jamanetwork.com)

TEENS
Students experiencing housing instability achieved lower scores on Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in reading and math, as well as on the ACT. (ohe.state.mn.us) Another study showed housing insecurity was directly linked to depression at age 15. (housingmatters.urban.org)

PARENTS/CAREGIVERS
Children are not the only family members to feel the stress of housing instability. Parents in doubled-up living situations feel forced to adapt family routines to those of the household and having parenting interrupted by opinions of their hosts. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Mothers who experience unstable or low-quality housing have proven to be more likely to screen positive for depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or both. (researchgate.net)

When you support Interfaith, you help families at risk of eviction or homelessness stay in their homes, their neighborhoods and their schools.