Where we live matters. When housing is affordable, accessible and safe, our neighbors and our neighborhoods thrive.

But decades of discriminatory housing, transportation, land-use policy and economic disinvestment have resulted in neighborhoods segregated by income, race and ethnicity, and created disparities that negatively impact the health, well-being and economic security of people living in America’s cities.

To spur sustainable changes, we need solutions that are designed with significant and meaningful input from those who are most affected. We believe that the most effective approaches will emerge when community members have the tools, power and support they need to influence the public and private systems that shape their lives.

With our Advancing Health Equity Through Housing initiative, we’re identifying community-driven practices that connect the housing and health sectors, as well as recognizing multisector partnerships that preserve, protect and increase the supply of stable housing and improve the health and well-being of people and families in low-income communities around the country.

With these investments, the foundation is funding a wide array of approaches, including those that reduce the harmful physical and mental health impacts of housing instability; advance sound public policy to preserve, protect and expand safe and affordable housing; and help communities become more connected and cohesive through housing and health activities.

Since launching the initiative in 2018, Kresge has awarded more than $8 million to 32 organizations.