Boston Globe: Three hospitals team up on $3m plan to help low-income families pay the rent

By Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Globe Staff,Updated August 6, 2019, 11:00 p.m.

Three big Boston teaching hospitals are launching an initiative to help families facing eviction, collectively acknowledging the strong connection between stable housing and good health.

Together, Boston Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital plan to spend about $3 million over three years to fund housing programs through grants to community organizations. The first $1.5 million is slated for families struggling with unstable housing, including those behind on rent payments and at risk of eviction.

The initiative reflects the growing recognition in the health care industry that such issues as housing, education, and food play a critical role in a person's health — and in health care costs.

BMC, Children's, and the Brigham are all required to devote money to community initiatives as a condition of state approval for large construction projects underway at each of their campuses. All three hospitals decided to focus on housing.

“Housing is a significant challenge for lots of vulnerable populations in the city of Boston, and a lot of those vulnerable populations are our patients,” said Wanda McClain, vice president of community health and health equity at Brigham and Women's.

“If you don't have housing, it's hard to focus on other things,” she said.

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Courtesy of The Boston Globe