Housing Crisis & Mental Health | Evidence to Impact

Critical Insights for Activists

Predicting Decline:: Eviction risk is a primary indicator for future depression and the need for psychiatric medication.
The "Two-Week" Danger Zone:: 37% of housing-related suicides occur within just two weeks of a projected eviction.
Supportive Housing Success:: Permanent Supportive Housing models significantly reduce emergency room visits for those with serious mental illness.
Policy Failures in NYC:: Forced psychiatric interventions for the unhoused can be legally unjustified and cause more harm than help.

Immigrant Barriers:: Research on how linguistic and legal barriers prevent immigrants from accessing housing assistance.
Qualitative Neighborhood Data:: Moving beyond quantitative data to understand "lived experience" of neighborhood-level stressors.

Acharya, B., Bhatta, D., & Dhakal, C. (2022). The risk of eviction and the mental health outcomes among the US adults. *Preventive Medicine Reports*, 29, 101981.
Fowler, K. A., et al. (2015). Increase in suicides associated with home eviction and foreclosure\... *American journal of public health*, 105(2), 311-316.