Quality, affordable and stable housing that is connected to opportunity creates the foundation for a healthy life.

The lasting effects of redlining and other racist housing policies have led to significant health disparities across racial groups. Our program aims to promote better and more equitable health outcomes by delivering programs and grants, addressing the built environment and building the field of health and housing. Working with healthcare organizations, affordable housing owners and operators, policymakers and philanthropy organizations, we will create a pathway towards a more equitable future.

Grant Making

We are partnering with organizations across the country to develop programs and grant opportunities that support the creation of more stable housing connected to the resources residents need to thrive.

Housing is an essential foundation for health in all communities. Living in a stable and affordable home is particularly important as we age. As an emerging leader on aging well in affordable housing, our focus is on making aging with health, joy, and dignity at home an achievable opportunity.

An older adult sits on steps as another stands at the bottom of the steps with his hand on the railing
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Featured Program
Thome Aging Well

Funded by the Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, Bank of America trustee, the Aging Well Program supports organizations in Michigan and Maryland looking to scale existing programs and drive innovative approaches for older adult care in affordable housing.

Learn more about the Thome Aging Well Program.

The Built Environment 

We are national leaders in promoting health through the built environment. Our Green Communities Criteria, the only national green building program created by and for the affordable housing sector, contains 33 health-promoting criteria. In the newest version of our award-winning standards, we partnered with the WELL Building Institute to offer Next Home Grants Green Communities and WELL co-certification as a means of advancing health outcomes in affordable housing. 

In addition to our criteria, our Health Action Plan has helped more than 30 affordable housing developers put health at the center of their design, development and preservation projects. The plan pairs affordable housing developers with public health professionals to prioritize the health needs of their communities through data analysis and community engagement. 

To date, this work has connected 149 residents at the Villages with health services and has helped 92% of residents with chronic disease management plans reach at least one treatment goal.
Jim Grauley, CEO, Columbia Residential

Building the Field

Together with our partners, we are building the field of health and housing research through collaboration, information sharing and research. We specialize in fostering cross-sector partnerships. In our Health Begins with Home convening series, we explored multiple pathways for healthcare and affordable housing practitioners to collaborate while centering the needs of the community. In Services in Housing, we explored how housing-based services could strengthen our public health infrastructure as an approach to move towards health equity.

Our experienced Capital team also creates innovative ways to connect organizations with the finances needed to support these programs. A key example of this is our Housing for Health Fund, which helps preserve affordable housing while strengthening the connection between health and housing as a pathway to housing stability, good health and better life outcomes. It is a unique approach that centers the residents voice and needs through the Health Action Plan with a capital investment and on-going evaluation.

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Building to Heal
Our framework is designed for our partners on the ground – the organizations working every day to help people and communities heal from deep historical and ongoing disinvestment and racism.