The Opportunity Starts at Home multi-sector affordable homes campaign published a new blog on September 12 written by Mollyrose Schaffner, policy writer and editor for ZERO TO THREE. ZERO TO THREE, an organization that works to ensure all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life, participates on the campaign’s Roundtable. In the blog, Ms. Schaffner writes about how access to safe, stable, and affordable housing helps lay a strong foundation for child development and about the importance of robust federal affordable housing policies.
“Safeguarding access to safe, stable, affordable homes is a critical policy ingredient for healthy child development,” writes Ms. Schaffner. “This is a problem we can solve, with proven supports to help families get in and stay in safe homes. Housing assistance programs, such as housing vouchers, public housing, and the national Housing Trust Fund reduce the likelihood that families live in overcrowded housing, experience homelessness, or move frequently.” Read the full blog here.
The Opportunity Starts at Home campaign will host a congressional briefing on Wednesday, September 18 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Room SVC 215. The briefing will feature presentations from three of the campaign’s multi-sector Steering Committee members – Children’s HealthWatch, Children’s Defense Fund, and the National League of Cities – on their organizations’ recent research on how affordable homes impact health, child poverty, and local economies. Register for the event here.