Kumasi Cooper
8 hrs ago
Research Papers / Housing Instability and Mental Health for Adults on Fixed or Limited Incomes [NEW]
Housing Instability and Mental Health for People Living on Fixed or Limited Incomes: A Public Service Focus
Introduction
Housing instability is a problem that affects many people, but it is often ignored until it turns into an eviction or a shelter stay. For adults living on fixed or limited incomes, even a small rent increase can push the budget past the breaking point. When rent takes most of the monthly income, people have to choose between housing and basic needs like food, transportation, and healthcare. Over time, that pressure can turn into chronic stress. Housing is often discussed as a financial issue, but it also becomes a mental health issue because constant uncertainty wears people down. Housing instability harms mental health for adults on fixed or limited incomes by increasing long term stress and psychological distress, and public service organizations respond through shelter, healthcare, and housing support, even though the system can be complex and hard to navigate.
History and Background of the Problem
Housing instability is often reduced to a homelessness conversation, but it starts much earlier than that. People can have a roof over their head and still live in unstable conditions. Healthy People 2030 explains that housing instability includes trouble paying rent, overcrowding, frequent moving, or spending most of the household income on housing (Healthy People 2030). That definition matters because it shows how many people can be at risk without fitting the stereotype of homelessness. A person might still have housing, but the fear of losing it can be constant.
For adults on fixed or limited incomes, the problem grows when rent takes up most of a monthly check. A fixed income does not adjust quickly when the market changes. When costs rise, people may borrow money, delay medical care, reduce food budgets, or move into crowded situations just to stay housed. That kind of survival mode can last for months or years. It also affects sleep, relationships, and emotional stability, which is one reason housing instability is connected to mental health outcomes.
Public service systems often become involved because the needs are connected. Housing support is not only about rent. It often involves healthcare, case management, paperwork, eligibility rules, and long wait times. When someone is already dealing with disability, chronic illness, or mental health symptoms, those barriers can make stability even harder to maintain. This is where public service organizations and government systems have to respond.
Extent of the Problem
The extent of housing instability is larger than many people assume because it includes many levels of risk, not just homelessness. Rent burden, frequent moves, and overcrowding can affect people even before they ever enter a shelter system. Healthy People 2030 connects housing strain to higher stress and negative mental health effects (Healthy People 2030). This shows that the problem is not only about losing housing. It is also about the ongoing conditions that create constant pressure.
Research also supports the link between unstable housing experiences and psychological distress. Tsai and colleagues found that experiences such as eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness were linked with higher psychological distress among adults in a large United States city (Tsai et al.). This matters because it suggests that housing related crises can leave lasting emotional strain, even after the immediate crisis has passed. It also supports the idea that preventing eviction is not only a housing strategy, but also a mental health strategy.
This problem also shows up in how public service organizations operate. In Phoenix, Central Arizona Shelter Services provides emergency shelter and programs focused on prevention and rapid rehousing (Central Arizona Shelter Services). Circle the City provides healthcare for people experiencing homelessness, including street medicine outreach and connections to care (Circle the City). These services exist because housing instability and health needs often appear together, especially for people who have limited resources and limited support.
Repercussions of the Problem
Housing instability affects mental health through constant uncertainty. When a person does not know if they will be able to pay rent, they live with daily worry. Over time, that worry can turn into chronic stress. Chronic stress can increase anxiety and depression, and it can make it harder to stay organized, keep appointments, or follow through with treatment plans. If someone is already managing a mental health condition, housing instability can make symptoms worse because routines and a sense of safety are disrupted.
The harm is not only emotional. Housing instability can affect work performance and income stability. If someone has to move often, it can disrupt schedules, transportation, and childcare. It can also separate people from support systems. When people lose stable housing, public systems feel the impact. Shelters, healthcare clinics, and emergency services become overloaded, and communities end up spending more on crisis response than they would on prevention.
Housing instability and mental health also feed into each other. Some people argue housing instability should be treated only as an economic issue, while others argue mental health is the main cause of housing instability. The reality is often both. Housing stress can worsen mental health, and mental health challenges can also make stable housing harder to maintain. When public systems are strict or slow, that can add another layer of stress for people who are already overwhelmed.
Quick Fix Solution
A short term solution should focus on prevention and stabilization. One practical approach is increasing access to emergency rental assistance, eviction prevention support, and case management for people on fixed or limited incomes. The goal is to intervene before the situation becomes a full housing loss. If a person can get help with back rent, a payment plan, or a quick connection to benefits, they may avoid eviction and avoid the mental health crash that can come with displacement.
Another quick fix is improving coordination between housing services and healthcare services. People dealing with housing instability may also need mental health support, medication management, or stress related care. Programs that connect housing support to healthcare can reduce the gaps that cause people to fall through. Organizations like CASS and Circle the City show how housing and health support can work together, but the process can still be hard for many people to navigate (Central Arizona Shelter Services; Circle the City). Reducing paperwork barriers and improving referrals can help people get support faster.
Long Term Solution
Long term solutions require system level change. A strong long term strategy is to expand stable affordable housing options and strengthen ongoing housing supports for people on fixed or limited incomes. Housing stability is not only about getting someone inside a unit. It is about helping them stay there. HUD highlights the connection between housing stability and health outcomes and supports studying how housing stability can promote better health and mental health (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development).
Another long term solution is building more coordinated systems that treat housing and mental health support as connected services instead of separate lanes. People who have experienced eviction, homelessness, or frequent displacement may need ongoing support to rebuild stability and manage stress. Housing plus services models can reduce repeat crises by addressing both the housing need and the mental health impact.
Finally, public service systems can reduce harm by lowering barriers. Strict requirements, long wait lists, and complicated steps often discourage people who are already overwhelmed. Simplifying access, improving coordination, and funding stability focused programs can help people maintain housing and protect mental well being over time.
Conclusion
Housing instability is a serious public problem because it creates long term stress and increases psychological distress, especially for adults on fixed or limited incomes. It often begins before homelessness, through rent burden, overcrowding, frequent moves, and constant fear of losing housing. Research shows that eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness experiences are linked to higher psychological distress, and public health sources show how housing instability can raise stress and harm mental health (Healthy People 2030; Tsai et al.). Public service organizations respond through shelter, healthcare, prevention, and rehousing support, but the system can still be hard to navigate (Central Arizona Shelter Services; Circle the City). Short term solutions should focus on prevention and stabilization, while long term solutions should expand affordable housing and strengthen ongoing supports. When housing is treated as part of public health and public service, communities have a better chance of reducing both homelessness and the mental health harm that comes with instability.
Works Cited
Housing Instability and Mental Health for People Living on Fixed or Limited Incomes: A Public Service Focus
Introduction
Housing instability is a problem that affects many people, but it is often ignored until it turns into an eviction or a shelter stay. For adults living on fixed or limited incomes, even a small rent increase can push the budget past the breaking point. When rent takes most of the monthly income, people have to choose between housing and basic needs like food, transportation, and healthcare. Over time, that pressure can turn into chronic stress. Housing is often discussed as a financial issue, but it also becomes a mental health issue because constant uncertainty wears people down. Housing instability harms mental health for adults on fixed or limited incomes by increasing long term stress and psychological distress, and public service organizations respond through shelter, healthcare, and housing support, even though the system can be complex and hard to navigate.
History and Background of the Problem
Housing instability is often reduced to a homelessness conversation, but it starts much earlier than that. People can have a roof over their head and still live in unstable conditions. Healthy People 2030 explains that housing instability includes trouble paying rent, overcrowding, frequent moving, or spending most of the household income on housing (Healthy People 2030). That definition matters because it shows how many people can be at risk without fitting the stereotype of homelessness. A person might still have housing, but the fear of losing it can be constant.
For adults on fixed or limited incomes, the problem grows when rent takes up most of a monthly check. A fixed income does not adjust quickly when the market changes. When costs rise, people may borrow money, delay medical care, reduce food budgets, or move into crowded situations just to stay housed. That kind of survival mode can last for months or years. It also affects sleep, relationships, and emotional stability, which is one reason housing instability is connected to mental health outcomes.
Public service systems often become involved because the needs are connected. Housing support is not only about rent. It often involves healthcare, case management, paperwork, eligibility rules, and long wait times. When someone is already dealing with disability, chronic illness, or mental health symptoms, those barriers can make stability even harder to maintain. This is where public service organizations and government systems have to respond.
Extent of the Problem
The extent of housing instability is larger than many people assume because it includes many levels of risk, not just homelessness. Rent burden, frequent moves, and overcrowding can affect people even before they ever enter a shelter system. Healthy People 2030 connects housing strain to higher stress and negative mental health effects (Healthy People 2030). This shows that the problem is not only about losing housing. It is also about the ongoing conditions that create constant pressure.
Research also supports the link between unstable housing experiences and psychological distress. Tsai and colleagues found that experiences such as eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness were linked with higher psychological distress among adults in a large United States city (Tsai et al.). This matters because it suggests that housing related crises can leave lasting emotional strain, even after the immediate crisis has passed. It also supports the idea that preventing eviction is not only a housing strategy, but also a mental health strategy.
This problem also shows up in how public service organizations operate. In Phoenix, Central Arizona Shelter Services provides emergency shelter and programs focused on prevention and rapid rehousing (Central Arizona Shelter Services). Circle the City provides healthcare for people experiencing homelessness, including street medicine outreach and connections to care (Circle the City). These services exist because housing instability and health needs often appear together, especially for people who have limited resources and limited support.
Repercussions of the Problem
Housing instability affects mental health through constant uncertainty. When a person does not know if they will be able to pay rent, they live with daily worry. Over time, that worry can turn into chronic stress. Chronic stress can increase anxiety and depression, and it can make it harder to stay organized, keep appointments, or follow through with treatment plans. If someone is already managing a mental health condition, housing instability can make symptoms worse because routines and a sense of safety are disrupted.
The harm is not only emotional. Housing instability can affect work performance and income stability. If someone has to move often, it can disrupt schedules, transportation, and childcare. It can also separate people from support systems. When people lose stable housing, public systems feel the impact. Shelters, healthcare clinics, and emergency services become overloaded, and communities end up spending more on crisis response than they would on prevention.
Housing instability and mental health also feed into each other. Some people argue housing instability should be treated only as an economic issue, while others argue mental health is the main cause of housing instability. The reality is often both. Housing stress can worsen mental health, and mental health challenges can also make stable housing harder to maintain. When public systems are strict or slow, that can add another layer of stress for people who are already overwhelmed.
Quick Fix Solution
A short term solution should focus on prevention and stabilization. One practical approach is increasing access to emergency rental assistance, eviction prevention support, and case management for people on fixed or limited incomes. The goal is to intervene before the situation becomes a full housing loss. If a person can get help with back rent, a payment plan, or a quick connection to benefits, they may avoid eviction and avoid the mental health crash that can come with displacement.
Another quick fix is improving coordination between housing services and healthcare services. People dealing with housing instability may also need mental health support, medication management, or stress related care. Programs that connect housing support to healthcare can reduce the gaps that cause people to fall through. Organizations like CASS and Circle the City show how housing and health support can work together, but the process can still be hard for many people to navigate (Central Arizona Shelter Services; Circle the City). Reducing paperwork barriers and improving referrals can help people get support faster.
Long Term Solution
Long term solutions require system level change. A strong long term strategy is to expand stable affordable housing options and strengthen ongoing housing supports for people on fixed or limited incomes. Housing stability is not only about getting someone inside a unit. It is about helping them stay there. HUD highlights the connection between housing stability and health outcomes and supports studying how housing stability can promote better health and mental health (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development).
Another long term solution is building more coordinated systems that treat housing and mental health support as connected services instead of separate lanes. People who have experienced eviction, homelessness, or frequent displacement may need ongoing support to rebuild stability and manage stress. Housing plus services models can reduce repeat crises by addressing both the housing need and the mental health impact.
Finally, public service systems can reduce harm by lowering barriers. Strict requirements, long wait lists, and complicated steps often discourage people who are already overwhelmed. Simplifying access, improving coordination, and funding stability focused programs can help people maintain housing and protect mental well being over time.
Conclusion
Housing instability is a serious public problem because it creates long term stress and increases psychological distress, especially for adults on fixed or limited incomes. It often begins before homelessness, through rent burden, overcrowding, frequent moves, and constant fear of losing housing. Research shows that eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness experiences are linked to higher psychological distress, and public health sources show how housing instability can raise stress and harm mental health (Healthy People 2030; Tsai et al.). Public service organizations respond through shelter, healthcare, prevention, and rehousing support, but the system can still be hard to navigate (Central Arizona Shelter Services; Circle the City). Short term solutions should focus on prevention and stabilization, while long term solutions should expand affordable housing and strengthen ongoing supports. When housing is treated as part of public health and public service, communities have a better chance of reducing both homelessness and the mental health harm that comes with instability.
Works Cited
