Testing the impact of housing assistance on housing security and adult mental health: Results from a randomized controlled trial

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Title: Testing the impact of housing assistance on housing security and adult mental health: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract: Housing insecurity is at an all-time high for renters nationally. Approximately 2.7 million households experience a formal eviction in any given year, homelessness has increased to record levels, and nearly one-half of very low-income renters are paying more than 50% of their income on rent or living in severely inadequate conditions. I will describe the design of a direct-to-tenant rental assistance program implemented and evaluated in partnership with the City of Philadelphia. In fall 2022, we enrolled 300 low-income renters with children in the PHLHousing+ program, which is making cash payments directly to households for 3.5 years to reduce their housing cost burden. We compare them with households receiving a different form of housing assistance (housing choice vouchers), and to households who are on waitlists for housing assistance. The PHLHousing+ program provides an opportunity to test aspects of the family stress model, which proposes that financial strain undermines adult mental health, with negative effects on parent-child relations and children’s well-being. We ask whether programs designed to reduce housing cost burden (1) increase housing security and quality and (2) improve adult mental health. I will describe initial findings from our evaluation and future directions for research.