— by Kristen Schulz, Commissioner for the Summit County Housing Authority. November 2025.
Providing families a safe, affordable, and stable place to live allows children and families to thrive. Research across public health, education, and economics shows that affordable and stable housing reduces toxic stress, improves physical and mental health, provides better educational outcomes, and creates economic stability and opportunities that last a lifetime.
Better Developmental and Educational Outcomes
Early childhood is a critical time for brain development, and a child’s environment and experiences during this sensitive period disproportionately impact their long-term development and health. Because young children spend a majority of their time in their homes, stable, affordable housing is key.
Housing instability often causes children to change schools mid-year, miss instructional time, and lose valuable continuity with teachers and services. Research links frequent moves and eviction filings to higher absenteeism, lower test scores, and increased disciplinary actions — outcomes that compound over time.
Better Physical and Mental Health
Stable housing reduces the chronic stress families experience when facing eviction, overcrowding, or unaffordable rents. Chronic housing stress is linked to higher rates of hypertension, worse maternal health, and poorer mental health for parents — all of which affect children’s development and well-being. Eviction and forced moves are uniquely harmful: studies show eviction exposure is associated with worse infant and child health outcomes, including increased emergency visits, postponed medical care, and developmental harms. Families with children experiencing housing instability accrue billions of dollars in avoidable health care and education costs.
Reduced Toxic Stress
Day-to-day worry about keeping a roof over one’s head creates “toxic stress” that impairs children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Studies show that affordable housing reduces parental stress and can improve parenting capacity — which supports early childhood development, school readiness, and social-emotional skills.
Better Economic Stability
When families spend less of their income on housing, they can afford food, medical care, safe child care, and educational enrichment — all ingredients for healthy child development. Analyses of housing instability estimate large avoidable downstream costs to health and education systems when families are unstably housed. Conversely, investment in housing stability is cost-effective in preventing those harms. For more information, visit housingmatters.urban.org.
Affordable Housing Makes Summit County Stronger
Nationally, about 1 in 6 children experience housing instability, while the combination of high rents and seasonal employment in local communities can make families particularly vulnerable to cost burdens and moves. Stabilizing families’ affordable housing in Summit County helps keep children in the same schools, maintains health care and social support, and preserves the child care and workforce continuity our local economy needs.
Stable, affordable housing is not just building houses — it’s creating a strong foundation for our children’s health, learning, and future opportunities. Investments that prevent eviction, increase affordability, and connect housing with child and family services pay off in healthier kids, stronger schools, fewer emergency health costs, and a more resilient community.