PORTLAND, Ore. – Health care doesn't stop after a person leaves the doctor's office. Factors outside of the traditional care setting such as housing play a pivotal role in a person's overall health.

Michael Mellick, a housing case manager with CareOregon, says anybody who has experienced chronic homelessness most likely experiences other issues as well.

"It's safe to assume they're going to have substance-use dependence issues, which we try to help them with,” says Mellick. “There's mental-health issues that often come into play. There are criminal background involvement issues that have to be remedied."

Addressing social determinants such as adequate housing are mandates for coordinated care organizations, which manage the Oregon Health Plan in local communities.

In Portland, six health organizations, including CareOregon and Kaiser Permanente, launched the "Housing is Health" initiative in 2016. Funding from it has supported two developments for low-income tenants, and another project is scheduled to open this summer.

Housing is Health is one part of CareOregon's response to housing issues. Case managers such as Mellick help non-residential clients look for solutions to their unique needs.

He describes a client who had lived on the streets for two years with a chronic lung disease. After helping to clear up his legal issues, Mellick found housing for the client.

He says the man is older and in a vulnerable position, and housing is helping to extend his life.

"He continues to engage in behaviors that aren't necessarily the healthiest for him but his utilization and the cost of his care drastically decreased for the simple fact that he was now sleeping inside in a warm, safe place,” says Mellick.

Mellick says one common thread among clients is a feeling of isolation. It can come from a variety of sources, such as trauma at an early age or the effects of racism or poverty.

He says addressing this could make for a better society.

"You're not just ending with the individual,” says Mellick. “You're looking at the individual's relationship with community. Healing, recovery, renewal. It goes back to the notion of relationships and the person's place in the community."

Backers of President Joe Biden's rent cap proposal said it could benefit many New Yorkers.

The plan calls for capping rent increases at 5% in apartments owned by corporate landlords, or those landlords risk losing federal tax breaks. It comes as statewide rents are rapidly increasing. As of this month, New York City rents are 147% higher than the national average.

Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for the group Housing Justice For All, said capping rents could greatly benefit New Yorkers struggling with housing costs.

"Many New Yorkers are already benefiting from stronger protections than what Biden has called for," Weaver acknowledged. "But for places that haven't opted into rent stabilization, which is many, in upstate New York especially, this would be hugely important, since half the state rents an unregulated apartment and this is potentially a lifeline."

The rent cap plan will require approval from Congress. It includes the Department of Housing and Urban Development investing $325 million nationwide in "Choice Neighborhood" grants, to support building affordable homes across the country.

Syracuse received $50 million from the program to build 1,400 affordable units. It comes as 31,000 households in Onondaga County spend more than one-third of their income on housing.

Beyond Biden's plan, New York's own good cause eviction protections passed earlier this year can help tenants. Since becoming law in May, four cities have opted in to the program. Though some housing advocates were against making it optional, Weaver noted the protections it offers reverberate in cities taking advantage of it.

"Right now, tenants in New York State have the right to renew their lease unless their landlord has a good reason to deny a lease renewal," Weaver explained. "The statutory protection is to remain in their home. And there's a nix on rent increases if you're rent-stabilized; it depends on what your local rent board voted for."

She notes cities adopting good cause eviction protections are also protecting tenants from almost 9% rent increases. Rochester and some Hudson Valley cities are considering opting in to these protections.


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Newly released data in Minnesota underscores what housing assistance groups have been preaching - it's become increasingly difficult for many people to keep a roof over their heads.

Minnesota Housing Partnership is out with its latest edition of the State of the State's Housing report.

It says statewide, median rent increased by 8% in just one year - the largest year-to-year increase in the past decade.

And the group's Executive Director Anne Mavity pointed out that 50% of renters pay more for housing than they can afford. That means in some cases, other basic necessities fall by the wayside.

"And trying to maintain that housing," said Mavity, "means that families are making really hard choices."

Regionally, according to the report, Central Minnesota has the highest cost-burden rate for homeowners.

The Twin Cities has the largest shortage of affordable and available rental units for extremely low-income individuals.

The Northwest region has the lowest homeownership rate for Black and Hispanic residents.

Mavity said it'll take a little time for the $2 billion in housing aid approved by state lawmakers last year to help turn things around. She added that more solutions are needed.

Many areas have seen declines in permits for new housing. Mavity noted that market conditions, namely building costs, are pretty tough right now.

She emphasized the need for land-use reforms to foster creativity.

"If someone has a house, if they want to create a basement apartment for their parents to age in, if they want to have an apartment over their garage to get some income," said Mavity, "there are 23 states across the country that have done that. We can do better on that."

Amid heavy opposition from municipal leaders, proposed changes related to zoning failed to advance in this year's legislative session.

That was despite backing from a broad coalition of affordable housing advocates, real estate leaders, and home builders. Supporters say they'll try again next session.




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Half of Nevada voters feel their political leaders are ignoring the housing crisis.

Recent polling conducted by the Center for Popular Democracy and the Right to the City Alliance showed voters are growing more concerned about the housing issues plaguing Nevada.

Cinthia Moore, a Democratic candidate for Nevada Assembly from East Las Vegas who previously led the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said Nevada attracts investors because the state does not have adequate protections in place for renters.

"As I am knocking on doors, a lot of people are doing month to month leases as a way to get more money out of our hardworking families," Moore observed. "That needs to stop."

Moore pointed out many longtime renters no longer have year-leases and their landlords have transitioned them to month-to-month agreements. She argued the move has allowed landlords to raise prices considerably, a practice she has vowed to put an end to if elected.

The poll found almost half of Nevada voters in the survey said they would vote for a candidate supporting government funding for affordable housing. Just over half said they would support a candidate who supports rent stabilization practices.

Sen. Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, said when it comes to the cost of housing, many in Nevada are making the difficult decisions to pay rent or make a mortgage payment rather than buying groceries or putting gas in their car. Nevada has made progress, including the passage of a law allocating funds for rental assistance in Clark, Reno and Sparks counties.

Flores said more needs to be done and lawmakers leading these housing-related legislative efforts should better understand the burden it places on families.

"There are people that are making laws that revolve around housing every single day that don't understand what a week means for a family, don't understand what it is to have to go and talk to somebody to just give you a little bit of an extra break," Flores emphasized. "I'm not saying that their families are wrong for that."

Flores stressed because of the lack of lived experience, lawmakers could be shortsighted or disconnected from the effects of policies on the most vulnerable. Flores added it is unfair wages and salaries have not grown in proportion to housing costs, making it a tough issue for Nevadans to grapple with on a daily basis.