Federal housing assistance benefits 11 million people through three main programs: public housing, project-based Section 8 housing, and housing choice vouchers. Researchers use multiple datasets to examine the effects of federal housing assistance programs on food security, health-promoting behaviors, and health outcomes.
National Coordinating Center

The Policies for Action program is overseen by the Urban Institute, building on the organization's wealth of experience in health, social, and economic policy, including its cross-center initiative on the social determinants of health.
As the national coordinating center, Urban works in close partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to manage the program and its network of grantees, providing strategic direction, technical assistance and training, and communication and outreach support. Urban also conducts high-impact policy research to complement the growing portfolio of Policies for Action-funded work happening across the country. Current projects include investigations of housing assistance programs, work policies, health care quality and access, income supplements, and more.