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Editing article: Housing Insecurity in the United States

Under Definitions, i am editing in terms format because it is confusing to follow... bold is what I intend to edit

Edits by Clara in Italics

Housing insecurity is the lack of security in an individual shelter that is the result of high housing costs relative to income, poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, and/or homelessness. However, housing insecurity cannot be understood in a simple definition. It requires background, relevant terms and risk factors to put it in perspective of how it affects the United States. It is important to understand these aspects to be able to implement policy. I would probably move this before the other definition. And start off being like "Housing insecurity cannot be understood in a simple way [...] and then include the other definition in some way. -- MOVED

Background

Housing insecurity is a result of segregation in housing, leaving minorities and low-income populations in poor, unsafe neighborhoods or house less.

I like this a lot. I think it really ads to the article, because it allows people to understand the history, which is definitely essential for the rest of the article. Also good job with the citations :)

Definitions --> (Terminology)

Housing insecurity cannot be understood from a simple definition and requires background, relevant terms and risk factors to put it in perspective of how it affects the United States.There is no set national definition for housing insecurity and results in multiple definitions from multiple researchers. There has been a goal set by those interested in identifying a national definition of housing insecurity, similar to that of food insecurity. Researchers argue that it is difficult to study the effect of housing insecurity because it has been defined in so many different ways. A unified definition of housing insecurity will also could help standardize the research on housing insecurity. Furthermore, a working definition for housing insecurity across the federal government in addition to allowing individuals who qualify for assistance to know that they qualify. the opportunity to gain knowledge on existing public programs they can benefit from.

Housing Insecurity

Researchers from the University of Southern California propose an all encompassing measure of housing insecurity that covers a variety of characteristics, including housing instability, housing affordability, housing safety, housing quality, neighborhood safety, neighborhood quality, and homelessness. They define housing instability as households living in overcrowded conditions as per the PSID. Each household head is allocated two rooms, and each additional married couple or single is allocated one room. Finally, one room is allocated for every two children and one bathroom for every four people.

A group of researchers from the University of Southern California propose a measure of housing insecurity that takes into consideratio the "seven dimensions of housing insecurity", which are identified as housing instability, housing affordability, housing safety, housing quality, neighborhood safety, neighborhood quality, and homelessness. These several aspects of housing are used to describe the severity of a housing situation, with homelessness identified at most severe . For bedrooms, each household head is allocated two rooms, married couple (or single occupant) is allocated one room and every two children are allocated one room. For Bathrooms, one bathroom is for every four people.

Various federal agencies have put forth different definitions of housing insecurity at different times. First, in studying the health effects of housing insecurity, the National Institute of Health has defined housing insecurity as high housing costs in proportion to income, poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, or homelessness. All of these factors are similar to those defined above. The Center for Disease Control has used their own definition of housing insecurity to study disease prevention. They studied housing insecurity through a survey question that asks, "How often in the past 12 months would you say you were worried or stressed about having enough money to pay your rent/mortgage? Sometimes, Usually, or always?" The Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes the American Housing Survey that deems that housing units which are affected by any of the descriptors below are considered to be extremely inadequate. --> fix this sentence

The Department of Health and Human Services has defined housing insecurity by taking into account proportion to income, housing quality, neighborhoods, overcrowding, and homelessness.

The Center for Disease Control used the frequency of responses to this question of, "How often in the past 12 months would you say you were worried or stressed about having enough money to pay your rent/mortgage? Sometimes, usually, or always?" to identify those who are housing insecurity and to assist in their research on disease prevention.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines housing insecurity based on multiple factors in the unit based on the quality of the house. Based on the answers on the American Housing Survey, they deem people housing insecure and the house inadequate based on these structural conditions:

• "does not have hot and cold running water"
• "does not have a bathtub or shower"
• "does not have a flush toilet"
• "shares plumbing facilities"
• "unit was cold for 24 hours or more and more than two breakdowns of the heating equipment have occurred that lasted longer than 6 hours"
• "electricity is not used"
• "has exposed wiring, not every room has working electrical plugs, and the fuses have blown more than twice."
• "has had outside water leaks in the past 12 months"
• "has had inside water leaks in the past 12 months"
• "has holes in the floor"
• "has open cracks wider than a dime"
• "has an area of peeling paint larger than 8 by 11 inches"
• "rats have been seen recently in the unit."

Furthermore, HUD considers housing inadequate if the unit has five or six of the following structural conditions: "unit has had outside water leaks in the past 12 months', "unit has had inside water leaks in the past 12 months', "unit has holes in the floor', "unit has open cracks wider than a dime', "unit has an area of peeling paint larger than 8 by 11 inches', and "rats have been seen recently in the unit." (should be included in list)

Housing affordability

Housing affordability is defined as the ratio of annualized housing costs to annual income. Different income based measures use different thresholds; however most organizations use either the 30% or 50% threshold, meaning that an individual is housing insecure if they spend more than 30% or 50% of their annual income on housing.

Housing safety

Housing safety is defined as a housing issue that presents an imminent health threat, such as inadequate heating capacity, faulty foundation, evidence of rodents, exposed electrical and more. Housing quality is defined as housing that is substandard but does not pose an imminent health risk, such as no cooking unit, no hot/cold water, no drinking water, faulty sewage, and more.

Neighborhood safety

Neighborhood safety is defined as living in a neighborhood that presents imminent health threats, such as a factory is located within half a block, unit is in a flood plain, unsatisfactory police presence, and more. Neighborhood quality is defined as households in neighborhoods with undesirable characteristics that do not pose an imminent health risk, such as poor city/county services, unit is boarded up, roads need repairs, no stores within fifteen minutes, and more. Homelessness in the United States is defined as "households who define housing type at the time of interviews as either tent, cave, railroad car, unspecified housing unit, a boat, an RV, or an unoccupied site for a mobile home, trailer or tent." If an individual meets one of the above criteria, then they are considered housing insecure under this definition.

Adequate housing

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which the United States is a signee, includes the right to adequate housing. They define adequate housing as having security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, affordability, habitability, accessibility, location, and cultural adequacy. Many of these tenants are similar to the ones above, such as availability of services (neighborhood quality), affordability, habitability (housing quality and housing safety), and location (neighborhood safety and neighborhood quality).

Security of tenure

This definition does introduces some new factors, which are security of tenure, accessibility, and cultural adequacy. The UN defines security of tenure as having tenure security which guarantees legal protection against forced evictions, harassment, and other threats. They define accessibility as taking into account the specific needs of disadvantaged and marginalized groups. They define cultural adequacy as respecting and taking into account the expression of cultural identity. If housing does not meet any of these criteria, it is considerate inadequate, or housing insecure.

There have been calls for one unified national definition for housing insecurity, much like there is a definition of food insecurity. Researchers argue that it is difficult to study the effect of housing insecurity because it has been defined in so many different ways. A unified definition of housing insecurity will also help standardize the research on housing insecurity. Furthermore, a working definition for housing insecurity across the federal government could allow individuals who qualify for assistance to know that they qualify.

Risk Factors

Race

Those who experience housing insecurity are found to be majorly composed of minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics who are twice more likely than whites (Do you have statistics? Might make the argument stronger). Due to their lack of jobs and opportunities, these populations were unable to afford housing, even without agreements and restrictions and around the 1800s they experienced overcrowding "into tenement houses lacking sanitation, fire safety, and adequate light and ventilation” which using the multiple definitions defined, this would be considered housing insecurity.

You stop mentioning race - and I feel like that's the argument you are trying to make. Try to make the link a little clearer between race and lower income (cause I am sure there is one from previous papers I've written, so maybe look for statistics online).

Risk factors--> change to 'Impacts'

Risk factors, to me, are defined as factors that someone may have that will lead to [housing insecurity]. Therefore, I think risk factors would be more of like race. Health and education are more things that are affected by being housing insecure - Maybe outline your definition before talking about the risk factors and establish the link to the factors you are going to outline briefly. It will make it easier to understand the connection to the rest of the article if you create a causal link.

Housing insecurity in the United States has many negative impacts for the housing insecure. Through cross-sectional analyses, researchers in the 2010s have found several negative factors; yet they acknowledge that it is not currently possible to pinpoint the exact causes and effects. The absence of a valid measure or universal definition for housing insecurity may be a possible reason for lack of research. Despite these implications with research, findings across the board suggest housing insecurity is a negative risk factor when it pertains to health and educational attainment.

Health

In a study that analyzed data from the 2011 Washington State Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, 29.4% of the 8,416 respondents reported being housing insecure. Housing insecure respondents were approximately "twice as likely to report poor or fair health status" compared to those who did not report being housing insecure. Approximately one third of the housing insecure respondents reported delaying doctor visits due to the costs. 26.9% of the housing insecure respondents were current smokers and "26.3% had poor or fair health".

Another cross-sectional analysis focusing on children from low-income households reports similar findings about the association between housing instability and medical care. The study which looks at 12,746 subjects from 2002 National Survey of America's Families data reports that "housing instability was independently associated with postponed medical care, postponed medications, and increased emergency department visits". Researchers note that a possible explanation for these associations may be due to "financial strain" and the need to prioritize other needs such as housing and food. Other health outcomes that have been associated with housing insecurity by past studies include: probable GAD, depression, and PTSD.

Through an additional cross-sectional analysis from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families, "housing instability was independently associated with postponed medical care, postponed medications, and increased emergency department visits" Other health outcomes that have been associated with housing insecurity by past studies include: probable GAD, depression, and PTSD.

Education

Evidence suggests there is link between housing insecurity and performance in school. A longitudinal study assessing the academic achievements of children in Minneapolis Public Schools reported that homeless and highly mobile children were "at greater risk for low academic achievement relative to other low-income students as well as more advantaged students." It is unclear if being homeless or highly mobile are short-term or long-term risks due to few longitudinal studies and limited access to the needed data.

A longitudinal study assessed the academic achievements of children suggesting there is a link between housing insecurity and performance in school. Researchers reported that homeless and highly mobile children were more likely to be at risk for low academic achievement compared to other students. Some scholars conclude the aforementioned achievement gaps with homeless and highly mobile students tend to be chronic and "may worsen among older grade cohorts." Highly mobile students were also linked with having "increased rates of grade retention" and more "school-related problems such as expulsion or suspension", compared to other students.(cite)

Assistance

One source of assistance is locally located public housing agencies (PHAs) that distribute section 8 vouchers. The vouchers are funded by the U.S. government, specifically the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These vouchers help low income families or individuals pay for their rent. The PHA determines eligibility based on income, family size and citizenship. Most families that qualify are put on a waitlist, and once they get a voucher, they must be able to find their own housing, and it must meet the safety requirements of the PHA. Once the family meets all the standards, the PHA may partially pay the landlord for the family's rent, requiring the family to pay the difference, or depending on the situation, the PHA may pay for a reasonably priced home.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) aims to create housing stability in the U.S. by increasing affordable housing and supporting government funded homes. The organization consists of 5 teams: the Research Team, the Policy Team, the Field Team, the Communications Team, and the Administration Team. The Research Team looks at statistics of housing insecurity, and the Policy Team helps inform policy makers about these trends. The Field Team raises awareness and the Communications Team gathers input from the general population about their views of housing insecurity. Finally, the Administration Team oversees the organization and regulates progress. These 5 groups all come together to combat housing insecurity.

Enterprise is another organization that has a plan to end housing insecurity by 2020. Their goal is not only to provide for low income families, but to also improve their psychological and physical well being. They have 5 pillars that they focus on: homes, systems, connections, resources, and foundation. Their objective is to provide affordable housing with systems that will provide equal opportunity for low income families. Enterprise also looks for opportunities to expand resources in the government to help those in need. Enterprise's 5 pillars come together to shape their main goal of becoming the foundation that will be strong enough to end housing insecurity.