Summary

A stable, affordable, quality home is necessary for our wellbeing and dignity. Yet for many of us in public health or organizing roles, it can be challenging to articulate this connection in service of campaigns or policy goals. Human Impact Partners, with the guidance of housing organizers, developed this research and communications toolkit for advocates to leverage public health data for housing justice.The toolkit is a set of research based talking points that health and housing advocates can copy and paste into materials for campaigns or communications. Our intent is for these resources to bolster the ongoing shared work of housing and health sectors’ advocacy in building a more just and healthy future, as the pandemic continues to produce and reinforce deep-seated health and housing inequities.

The toolkit includes:

• Background information on why the ongoing housing crisis is an urgent public health disaster and how we got here.

• Housing and health justice talking points supported by updated public health research evidence on the necessity of stable housing for our wellbeing, the necessity of housing justice as a racial justice strategy, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Resources on how to use public data to fuel housing campaigns, with links to housing data sources and case studies describing how organizers have used data as part of their efforts to shift narratives and inform decisions to protect communities’ health.

• A discussion on long-term housing solutions to make lasting change toward housing justice and equitable recovery.