Flexibly Addressing Family Needs: How BRHP Supports Families and Children  

Family well-being is a complex goal that requires a holistic, interdisciplinary approach. The Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (BRHP) is proud to work in partnership with diverse financial, educational, and healthcare organizations, including the Credit Builders’ Alliance, Vehicles for Change, the Johns Hopkins University, the City of Baltimore, HealthCare Access Maryland, the CASH Campaign of Maryland, and many other valuable partners to ensure our families have the support they need and amplify our impacts.  

In this blog, we wanted to highlight one of those partnerships, designed to support families with children. The Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration is an initiative BRHP launched in cooperation with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, the Health Department of Baltimore City, Johns Hopkins, and other healthcare providers that works to enhance the health of families and children via housing mobility. The Demonstration couples BRHP’s renowned housing mobility counseling with rental assistance via the Housing Authority of Baltimore City to help families whose children have health needs move to areas where their needs can be better met, supporting 150 families whose children medically and developmentally benefit from moving from areas of concentrated poverty to healthier home environments.  

The demonstration builds from the knowledge that housing is a social determinant of health and a belief that health providers in Baltimore can play a role in identifying health challenges that can be improved by quality housing. Maria’s story is one of many stories from the Demonstration that showcases the importance of health partnerships with housing providers and the impact of housing on well-being. Her daughter, who suffers from “eczema…asthma, and severe allergies…was referred to [the Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration] through the Asthma Mobile – it’s an asthma bus that comes to [her] school” as part of the Baltimore City Health Department’s Community Asthma Program. Staff were concerned about her child’s health, which was causing her to miss school days, and got to know Maria and her daughter. Their work together made them recognize that “a lot of the time [her daughter] was sick, it had a lot to do with the environment that [they] were living in and the conditions of [the] home.” These observations led the Health Department staff to refer Maria to BRHP’s Healthy Children Demonstration. 

Community healthcare providers play a key role in the Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration by identifying patients whose needs may be best served by moving and making referrals for enrollment in the Demonstration. By working closely with our health partners, BRHP demonstrates how housing mobility can support families with unique needs and the importance of intersectional cooperation to family wellness.  

 One cornerstone of this project is the conviction that neighborhood and housing conditions affect children’s health outcomes and stress levels, and BRHP strives to ensure that our families with children have the support they need to thrive. Areas of concentrated poverty tend to exhibit greater rates of pest infestations, as well as contain food deserts and older housing stock that often contains lead-based paint— all factors which contribute to health inequities in children. These health challenges contribute to significant differences in quality of life, educational attainment, and health for children throughout their entire lives, affecting mental and physical development. By transitioning from under-resourced areas, families can break cycles of generational poverty and build their own brighter futures while improving their health outcomes.  

As part of a holistic approach to housing, BRHP counseling helps clients prepare for leasing in the private market with a suite of in-house workshops. These workshops include information on financial management, housing search tips, and landlord outreach that can help clients in myriad ways, as well as security deposit assistance. Maria felt like she had “a lot of options and resources and help to navigate the search,” and was able to find “a good fit for [her family]. The home is beautiful…the biggest motivation was the help, it was so easy. You made things—you gave me hope, you really gave me hope.” 

The biggest motivation was the help, it was so easy. You made things—you gave me hope, you really gave me hope.

-Maria S.

For housing providers and public health researchers alike, the Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration is an exciting contribution to a growing body of scholarly literature supporting the impact of housing policies on health outcomes and the importance of housing counseling. For Maria, the program has a more direct impact: Since her move, her family has “been thriving…[her daughter’s] asthma is not severe as it was, and now she’s better due to the fact that we were able to move to a better home and a better environment…it’s a big, fresh relief.”  

Written by — Steven Chen, Communications and Special Projects Intern