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Public housing residents have been found to have the worst health of any subpopulation in the U.S. Currently housing policy and housing relocations studies assume it is the disadvantaged neighborhoods and concentration of poverty, and substandard public housing that is the problem. We examine 387 public housing residents in 7 public housing communities in Atlanta to determine if their housing situation is causing their poor health or if public housing is a safety net for unhealthy poor people. We find that many public housing residents enter public housing because of their health, but the marginalized circumstances both during and prior to public housing plays a role in poor health. We encourage public health to become involved in housing policy to make sure the healthiest decisions are made. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Atlanta Housing Authority is in the process of relocating public housing residents and demolishing the preponderance of public housing communities. The initial data indicate that some groups in the public housing communities may be more sensitive to the uncertainty the relocations have interjected into their lives due to the perceived instability of the voucher program. The source of perceived instability changes by group. This research examines group differences. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]