What We Know
High housing costs can mean lack of money for healthy food, health care and other resources that support a healthy lifestyle, or stress-relieving social activities. Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions such as increased heart disease, mental health issues, and childhood social emotional development.
In order to assess housing needs, we examined (1) affordable housing supply; (2) households overpaying for housing; and (3) overcrowding.
Findings?
Affordable Housing Supply
- Only 4% of Marin County’s housing units are categorized as affordable housing.
Households overpaying for housing
- 46% of households pay more than 30% of their total income on housing (either rent or mortgage) indicating a household budget is likely overburdened.
- 56% of households pay more than 45% of their income to housing and transportation costs combined.
- Canal area of San Rafael (73%), Marin City (60%) and Bel Marin Keys (58%) are the top 3 areas with the most households paying more than 30% of their total income to housing.
Overcrowded Households
- Countywide, only 2.5% of households are overcrowded, compared to 8% of households in CA.
- In part of the Canal area of San Rafael, 41% of households are overcrowded.
What is concerning?
Marin values Marin lacks affordable housing, and close to half of Marin residents are overburdened by their housing costs. In communities such as the Canal and Marin City, the situation is severe.
What are some proposed solutions?
Increase number of programs to support transition needs and transitional housing.
Develop accessible and affordable housing.
Healthy Marin Partnership - Evaluating Marin’s Community Health Needs.
Since 1996 Healthy Marin Partnership has been conducting community health needs assessments for Marin County that identify, and address, key countywide issues. HMP reports have focused community discussion on health impacts “upstream”, recognizing that addressing social and environmental conditions will positively impact health disparities and trends in disease and conditions for all residents.
With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, completion of a community health needs assessment by the nation’s not-for-profit hospitals was codified into the Internal Revenue Code. Healthy Marin Partnership and Marin’s hospitals (Marin General, Novato Community & Kaiser Permanente) continued their partnership and, in 2013 completed a robust assessment of health needs in Marin.