Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) once again finds housing a top priority

Every three years, a consortium of health and human services providers in Addison County conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), surveying the community broadly about their top concerns and priorities regarding the overall health and wellness of our community. The last CHNA conducted in 2021 found that housing topped the list of key needs to support better health. The 2024 CHNA confirmed that safe, decent, affordable housing with services is a key component of a healthy population and a health economy.

Housing is now recognized as a key "social determinant of health" and some medical professionals go so far as to liken safe, decent, affordable housing to a vaccine because of all the preventative benefits a healthy affordable home can provide, from cleaner air, to less stress, to more money for healthy food, education, prescriptions, and regular PCP visits--all things which can lead to better health and fewer illnesses.