Assessing TRUE HAVEN Housing Intervention Impact on Parent Experiences and Youth Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY In the United States, over 5 million children have experienced the incarceration of a parent—a consequence of five decades of mass incarceration, which is a manifestation of structural racism. Policies and practices driving mass incarceration children who are Black have a seven times higher likelihood of experiencing parental

incarceration than their white peers. Parental incarceration is associated with worse child mental health, including internalizing (e.g. depression, suicidal ideation) and externalizing (e.g. aggression, substance use) behaviors, and it contributes to disparities in child mental health. Housing insecurity is one form of economic

hardship disproportionately experienced by families who have been impacted by incarceration. Housing insecurity is associated with more child and adolescent mental health problems including internalizing and externalizing symptoms, particularly for families impacted by the criminal legal system. The overall research

goal of this supplement is to build evidence on how structural interventions, specifically an intervention to improve housing stability, affects child mental health among those whose parents have been incarcerated. We will build upon the infrastructure of the TRUsted rEsidents and Housing Assistance to decrease Violence

Exposure in New Haven (TRUE HAVEN) grant, a multi-level intervention focused on housing stability and mental well-being, to describe and explore potential changes in youth mental health among TRUE HAVEN housing intervention participants. Specifically, we will embed a qualitative study and a cohort feasibility study of

youth and their parents within the ongoing hybrid type 1 effectiveness/implementation study of an intervention that provides comprehensive financial education and financial support for housing in the form of rental assistance, down payment assistance, and low-interest home loans among family members of incarcerated

people. The proposed aims are a logical extension of the parent project aims and add a novel exploration of the impact of TRUE HAVEN on parent-child relationships and on youth mental health. Further, this supplement will provide Dr. Destiny Tolliver with necessary skills to build an independent research career.