Life Shocks and Homelessness

In this study, we exploit an exogenous health shock--the birth of a child with a severe health condition that is considered by the medical community to be random in the population--to investigate the effect of a life shock on homelessness. Past research has shown that this particular shock has immediate deleterious effects (occurring as soon as one year after the birth) on families' economic resources. As such, this study perhaps represents the best test to date of whether adverse life shocks at the individual level appear to be important determinants of homelessness. That is, by exploiting an exogenous life shock that has economic repercussions, we indirectly test the hypothesis that income volatility is a key factor affecting homelessness.

Marah A. Curtis is Assistant Professor of Social Welfare Policy at the Boston University School of Social Work and a Peter Paul Career Development Professor. Her research focuses on the effects of public policy on the well being of families with particular emphasis on housing policy, health and incarceration. Her work has been published in such journals as Housing Policy Debate, Population Research and Policy Review and Social Service Review. Currently, Professor Curtis is examining the impact of the One Strike Policy in public and subsidized housing on family housing stability as well as the effect of incarceration on fathers' long-term health and housing security. Dr. Curtis received her Ph.D. in Social Policy, Planning and Policy Analysis at Columbia University School of Social Work in 2005 and was both a Council on Social Work Education and Columbia University Public Policy Consortium Fellow.  Before attending Columbia University, Professor Curtis was a child and family therapist.

Click here for Audio of Marah Curtis's Presentation