Finding HOPE: Changes in depressive symptomology following relocation from distressed public housing.

Many public housing residents suffer from poor mental health and depression, which may be a function of both socioeconomic deprivation and residing in disorderly, unstable, and disadvantaged neighborhoods. While not explicitly targeting mental health, the HOPE VI program may improve public housing residents' mental health by relocating them from distressed developments and into less-disadvantaged and disorderly neighborhoods. This paper examines post-relocation depressive symptomology among residents relocated from the Boulevard Homes public housing development in Charlotte, NC. Drawing on pre- and post-relocation surveys, as well as interviews with staff and case managers, we examine whether depressive symptomology - measured by the CES-D-10 - is associated with whether tenants relocate to other public housing or to private-market housing through the Housing Choice Voucher program. Further, we investigate whether social support, perceptions of safety, or objective neighborhood measures result in improvements in post-relocation depressive symptomology. We find that depressive symptomology substantially decreased following relocation, and those with higher CES-D-10 scores were more likely to move to other public housing rather than through the voucher program. Interviews with case managers suggest that some residents were fearful of leaving public housing and assuming the responsibilities of a private-market rental unit - e.g., basic maintenance and utility payments. Further, we find that reductions in post-relocation depressive symptomology are associated with greater perceptions of safety, greater social support in their new neighborhoods, and length of tenure at Boulevard Homes. Policy recommendations include expanding community-based mental health services, conducting pre-relocation mental health screenings, and providing additional relocation counseling to those suffering from depression.

Effects of an Individual Development Account Program on Retirement Saving: Follow-up Evidence From a Randomized Experiment.

We examine the 10-year follow-up effects on retirement saving of an individual development account (IDA) program using data from a randomized experiment that ran from 1998 to 2003 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The IDA program included financial education, encouragement to save, and matching funds for several qualified uses of the saving, including contributions to retirement accounts. The results indicate that as of 2009, 6 years after the program ended, the IDA program had no impact on the propensity to hold a retirement account, the account balance, or the sufficiency of retirement balances to meet retirement expenses.

Housing and health: time for renewed collaboration.

This article reviews the evidence linking housing affordability, overcrowding, and dilapidation to both physical and mental health. It also presents several ways that public health and city planning professionals can work together to address those housing-related health problems.

Neighborhood characteristics moderate effects of caregiving on glucose functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Adverse neighborhood environments and caregiving for a relative with dementia are both stressors that have been associated with poor health. The present study examined the extent to which three self-report measures of neighborhood characteristics interact with caregiving status (caregiver versus noncaregiver) to modify an important stress related health outcome: plasma glucose. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 147 community recruited caregivers and 147 participants who did not have caregiving responsibilities. We hypothesized that negative neighborhood characteristics would magnify effects of caregiving on plasma glucose levels. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the interaction of three neighborhood characteristic measures with caregiving status in predicting fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin concentration (HbA1c), with control for age, race, gender, relation to care recipient (spouse or relative), body mass index, income, and education. RESULTS: Of the three neighborhood measures, the one reflecting crime concerns significantly moderated the effect of caregiving on FPG (p < .002) and HbA1c (p < .001). For participants with better neighborhood characteristics, caregivers and noncaregivers were similar with respect to indicators of glucose metabolism; however, for participants with worse neighborhood characteristics, caregivers had higher levels of FPG and HbA1c, as compared with noncaregivers. CONCLUSIONS: Poor health outcomes, such as impaired glucose control, may be found among caregivers who fear neighborhood crime.