Reports and Briefs

Rapid rehousing or "housing first" has been heralded as the answer to ending family homelessness. New York City has the longest history with using rapid rehousing as a tool for placing homeless families into permanent housing. In this opinion brief, ICPH President and CEO Ralph Nunez points to New York City as a case study and takes a critical look at the long-term impact of federally driven rapid-rehousing policies. The brief raises fundamental questions about the effectiveness of rapid rehousing as a solution when it is used in a one-size-fits all manner.

In November 2013, New Yorkers will elect a new mayor. Without knowledge of which policies have worked in the past and which have failed, the next mayoral administration cannot hope to make sound decisions with regard to homelessness.  An Election Primer on New York City’s Homeless Families: The Public Policies of Four Mayors, 1978—2013 has been distributed to all mayoral candidates and is available here for public review.

Nearly 15 years after the first charter schools were introduced to New York City, the debate over how effectively these schools help the city’s neediest students remains front and center.  This brief looks at how homeless students fit into charter schools.

NOTE: CORRECTION On page 4 of the brief, under "Funding Disparities," the sentence should read: "In SY 2010-11, 70 of the city's 124 charter schools (or 56%) were in Department of Education buildings." Source: New York City Charter School Center. "Unequal Shares: The Surprising Facts About Charter Schools and Overcrowding." http://www.nyccharterschools.org/sites/default/files/resources/unequal_shares.pdf (accessed March 25, 2013).

Foreclosure and homelessness are linked in the public’s mind. But as shown in “Foreclosures and Homelessness: Understanding the Connection," the latest brief from ICPH, the lack of data collection means that the effects of foreclosures on homelessness are still inconclusive.  This ICPH policy brief looks at foreclosures and homelessness in the United States from 2005 to 2011, and provides recommendations to government agencies and researchers for how to better track the number of homeless people who have experienced foreclosure.

This ICPH research brief is the 11th in a series that highlights the characteristics of families with young children who become homeless in the urban United States. The series explores poverty in the context of housing status and puts a spotlight on the characteristics that make families who experience homelessness different from otherwise similar poor families who consistently maintain stable housing. The current brief extends the research presented in briefs one through six and explores differences in housing stability by race. Racial differences in marriage, fertility, education, employment, and health contribute to disparities in housing stability.