Mark Luigi Dacumos
As bills pile up, you look for ways to cut costs. Where can you do this? With expenses like entertainment, eating out, unused gym memberships, cable, and so on. What can’t you cut? Your rent. And unfortunately, it’s probably the biggest bill you have.
What can make it easier to balance your budget? Lowering your rent. But instead of downgrading your home or getting a roommate, you can pay less for rent by getting a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher.
With a Housing Choice Voucher, you’ll only have to pay a certain amount of your income towards the rent. This is usually around 30 percent, versus the over half of the income that many people find themselves paying to their landlords every month.
While paying less rent can lead to less stress and more money for other bills, these other affordable housing benefits may be even better: Improved healthcare and nutrition.
How Affordable Housing Can Improve Healthcare and Nutrition
When you’re spending the majority of your income on rent, other areas suffer. And while it may seem illogical, the areas that suffer are usually things we need the most.
To prove this notion, let’s look at a 2012 study. It found that low-income families who paid over half their income towards housing spent less on healthcare and food than those whose rent costs were less than 30 percent of income. Meanwhile, another study found that as rents went up, so did food insecurity among families.
Is Section 8 the only way to free up income to purchase healthcare and food? No, as research shows other assistance programs can help as well.
Look at utility costs, for example. They can make up a big chunk of housing costs, leaving less money for healthcare and food. With the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), you can pay less for utilities. One study found this program to be instrumental in reducing food insecurity while also promoting housing stability.
Children may be the biggest beneficiaries of affordable housing when it comes to improved healthcare and nutrition. Since affordable housing allows parents to spend more on medical care and food, it comes as no surprise that kids from low-income households receiving subsidies:
- Were more likely to meet “well child” criteria.
- Had an easier time maintaining a healthy weight.
- Showed fewer developmental issues.
This is in comparison to children from low-income households who were on the waiting list for housing assistance.
Children aren’t the only ones who benefit from affordable housing, as adults can get the nutrition they need. And when it comes to healthcare, adults not burdened by high housing costs are more likely to consult a doctor, have health insurance, and fill prescriptions than those with no room to pay for such expenses.
