RafaelVillar

2/22/16
JulioAlicea

ResearchProject:Whyishavinghousingimportanttoyouth?

Problem
Thereisaninfluxofhomelesschildrenandchildrenlivinginterriblehousing.This
isahugeproblembecausethehouseholdthatachildisraisedincanaffectmany
differentfactorsintheirlife.Forexamplehowtheyaredoinginschoolandtheirphysical
health.IngeneralthewayAmericagovernstheirhousingisntthebest(RNotes).With
thesefactorsbeingtakensoseriouslyingeneral,changingtheamountofgoodhousing
thatisavailableshouldbetakenintoconsideration.

EffectsHousinghasonStudentGrades
Itisevidentthatchildrenwhodonotliveinpublichousingdobetterinschool.A
doctorbythenameofMeganSandelMDMPHbelievesthateducationandhousingare
connected(R.Notes).Childrenoftenhavegradesthatarearepresentationoftheir
housingstatus.Inotherwordsastudentwhodonothaveastablehouseholdcanbe
morepronetoadifficulttimeinschool.Statistically43%ofAmerica'spopulationhas
stablehousing(Sandel).Havingpriorknowledgethatspeaksitshouldbetakeninto
accountthatalargeportionofthat43%areAmericanchildren.Meaningthatmorethan

halfofAmericaiseitherfrequentlymoving,behindonrent,orcrowded.Withthistaken
intoaccountafocusonbetterhousingshouldbeimplemented.
EffectsHousinghasonHealth
Peoplewholiveinunstableorcheaphousingusuallyhavemorehealthproblems
thanpeoplewhodont.SeenfromapresentationattheHousingforAllSummitin2016,
childhealthandhousingareconnected(R.Notes).Qualityofahousehold,thestability,
andaffordabilitycanaffectthehealthofahumanbeing.Withthistakenintoaccountitis
evidentthatpeoplewillhavehealthproblems,researchdonebyMeganSandelstates
thatpeoplewholiveinunstablehousingorcheaphousingwillmostlikelyhavehealth
problems.Achild'sphysicalhealthisdependentoftheirhousescharacteristics.The
physicalqualityofahousemayleadtolifelongproblemslikeleadpoisoningand
asthmaforexample(Breysseetal.2004).Thisisjustanotherfactortotakeintoaccount
whenthinkingabouttheamountofaffordablehousingthatisavailable.

Solution
Inamericawearelivingwithoneofthehighesthomelessratesintheworld.
Makinghousingmoreaffordableisjustthetipoftheiceberg.Notonlydowehaveto
makehousingmoreaffordablebutwehavetoimprovetheimplementationofauthorities
overlivingspaceslikeapartmentsforexample.Tobeabletosolvefortheproblemsof
healthandstudentgradesbothofthosestepsneedtobetaken.Withoutmaking
housingmoreaffordablestudentswillhaveahigherchanceofnothavingastable
householdandthosestudentsstatisticallyhave20pointslowerintheirreadingscores

thanstudentswhodohaveastablehousehold(RNotes).Anothersolutioncouldbe
movingsomeofthefundingputintohealthcareintosocialproblemslikehousing
becauseifhousingisahugefactortowhytherearepatientsinahospitalthenwhynot
stoptheproblematitsrootsratherthanpickingofftherottenleaves.
Onesolutionicoulddoasanindividualisbemoreconsciousofthefriendsi
havewhoneedhelpontheirworkbecauseareasontothatcouldbebecause
theydon'thaveautilityintheirhousecalledinternet.
Onesolutionwecoulddoasaclassisrunadrivethatcouldhelpdonatetothe
housingissueinamerica.
Onesolutionthatthegovernmentorcommunitycoulddoisimplementmore
moneyinthissocialproblemthaninhealthbecauseofreasonsstatedinmy
previousparagraph.

Conclusion
Ibelievethatthisproblemneedstobesolvedpersonallynowbecauseofthe
statisticsthatIhavegonethrough.Americaisspendingtheirmoneyinplacesthat
shouldbemovedandregulated.Thethoughtofhomelesspeople/unstablehousingisn't
regardedasseriouslyinmanyconferencesasitshouldbe.