410.610.01
Housing Insecurity and Health
Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Health, Behavior and Society
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2023 - 2024
Instruction Method
In-person
Wednesday, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
The course introduces students to housing insecurity (per HUD, lacking affordable, quality housing in a safe, adequate neighborhood; and loss of housing) as a public health and equity concern. We situate housing insecurity within the historical and current context of displacement, redlining, eviction and other practices and policies perpetuating racial segregation and disparities in community resources, risks, and health. We consider its disparate impacts in the US on women and minorities and, globally, low-income countries; and the role community organizations and service-learning in social change for housing security for all and health equity.
Introduces the issues of homelessness and its relationship to health. Presents factors leading to homelessness, myths about homelessness, barriers to accessing services, health problems that arise from homelessness, multidisciplinary approaches to health care from homeless persons, and advocacy strategies.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Compare definitions and measurements of housing insecurity and homelessness and describe their links to health (mental, physical and social).
- Describe demographic differences in housing insecurity or homelessness and how they are related to systems of power (race, gender, class).
- Explain how redlining and other policies and practices drive growing inequities in housing security, community development and family/support network resources important to health.
- Apply a social ecological framework to identify multi-level structural factors (e.g., interpersonal, family, community, institutional) linked to secure housing, and potentially homelessness prevention, among vulnerable populations.
- Compare and contrast the role of critical service-learning vs charity volunteerism in making visible injustices (policies and practices) that promote housing insecurity and in enabling social change.
- Demonstrate practices (reflection, listening) for cultivating awareness of injustices and relationships of mutuality to help redress them.
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 30% Participation
- 30% Midterm Paper
- 30% Reflection
- 10% Group Presentation