Behind the Research

The American Almanac of Family Homelessness is a comprehensive resource that analyzes key issues surrounding homelessness among families with children, highlights successful programs and practices at the state and local levels, and features groundbreaking initiatives from across the country.

Read or download the Almanac here: http://www.icphusa.org/Publications/AmericanAlmanac/

The American Almanac of Family Homelessness is a comprehensive resource that analyzes key issues surrounding homelessness among families with children, highlights successful programs and practices at the state and local levels, and features groundbreaking initiatives from across the country.

Read or download the Almanac here: http://www.icphusa.org/Publications/AmericanAlmanac/

This edition of Behind the Research features Senior Research Associate Ethan Sribnick, who discusses the importance of a historical perspective in the study of homelessness.

In 2010, 50% more New York City families received SNAP benefits, or food stamps, than at the start of the recession in 2007. Unfortunately, these benefits are calculated without accounting for the City's higher cost of food, depriving these families of the same degree of relief felt elsewhere. In this video, Policy Analyst Josef Kannegaard describes how families at risk of homelessness are struggling to balance adequate nutrition with housing costs.

Read the brief, "The Impact of Food Stamp Benefits on Family Homelessness in New York City," here.

Ralph da Costa Nunez, president and CEO of the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, describes the Institute's recently released report "A New Path: An Immediate Plan to Reduce Family Homelessness." After decades of a failed one-size-fits-all approach to ending homelessness, "A New Path" outlines a plan for new, specialized family shelters that provide a full range of supportive services to transition families back to stability.

In his keynote address to ICPH's 2012 national conference, "Beyond Housing: A National Conversation on Child Homelessness and Poverty," President and CEO Ralph da Costa Nunez offered an overview of why homelessness is about much more than housing, beginning with a comprehensive historical account of how family homelessness has grown into an intractable problem whose solution has eluded policymakers for decades. Dr. Nunez's perspective, drawn from years of experience in government, social service, and academia, forms the basis for "A New Path: An Immediate Plan to Reduce Family Homelessness," which Dr. Nunez unveiled at the conference.