Impact of services on retaining subsidized housing

ABSTRACT

The most common reason for lease violations among residents of subsidized housing in the United States is late and nonpayment of rent, which can lead to eviction. However, little is known about what services offered to residents assist in retaining housing. Mercy Housing, the third largest nonprofit provider of subsidized housing in the United States, offers a variety of social support services to address elements of social exclusion, such as poverty, unemployment, and housing instability. Using propensity score matching and multilevel logistic regression, we test the impact of using services on housing retention among households that received a lease violation for late payment of rent between 2012 and 2014. Results indicate that using services to address social capital/companionship and instrumental/tangible needs are predictors of retaining housing. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

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Notes on contributors

Mark Plassmeyer

Mark Plassmeyer received his MSW from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. His research interests are centered around the impact of collateral sanctions on successful reentry for drug offenders, particularly sanctions regarding access to housing. His other research interests are in drug policy, affordable housing, and the role of social workers in the political process. His professional experience includes work in secure juvenile corrections centers and various roles in community mental health organizations that provide housing for people diagnosed with severe and persistent mental health disorders.

Daniel Brisson

Daniel Brisson focuses his scholarship on poverty, low-income neighborhoods, and affordable housing. He has ongoing community partnerships with Mercy Housing, Denver Human Services, and the Boulder County Housing and Human Services Department. Brisson is also delivering his intervention, Your Family, Your Neighborhood, to families living in low-income urban neighborhoods. Brisson has written extensively on the role of neighborhood social cohesion as a mediator for the health and well-being of families living in low-income neighborhoods. Currently, he is focusing on community partnerships with affordable housing providers to understand the role of neighborhood social processes on individual health.

Stephanie Lechuga-Peña

Stephanie Lechuga-Peña is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University and has over 15 years of experience in social work practice, working with low-income youth and families. Her research examines parent engagement in low-income and subsidized housing neighborhoods and the barriers and facilitators that children and youth experience in their educational outcomes. Previously she was a Fellow with the Council on Social Work Education’s Minority Fellowship Program, which provides professional development training, mentorship, and other supports to racial/ethnic minority social work doctoral students who are preparing to provide leadership in practice, research, teaching, and policy promulgation in government and private organizations serving underrepresented and underserved persons. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she was a site director with The Bridge Project through the Graduate School of Social Work at University of Denver.