Housing assistance is a safety net, not a springboard to economic opportunity

Housing assistance in the United States is unusual: unlike many other forms of public assistance, it is not an entitlement and serves only about one-quarter of eligible households. Researchers know a lot about outcomes for the lucky few who receive assistance, but what about those who lose it? In the largest study of its kind, a team from the Urban Institute, including Robin E. Smith, Susan J. Popkin, Taz George, and Jennifer Comey, examined the post-assistance trajectories of families from five US cities. The results point to the need to smooth often vulnerable families’ transition off of housing aid.