George Mason Researchers Receive Funding To Create Coalition To Study Housing Insecurity and Climate Resiliency
Jenna Krall, Associate Professor, Global and Community Health, College of Public Health; Lucas R.F. Henneman, Assistant Professor, Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC); M.B. Mitcham, Assistant Professor, Global and Community Health; Director, Online Master of Public Health Program, College of Public Health; and Luis Ortiz, Assistant Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), College of Science, received funding for the project: “Housing insecurity, climate risks, and health: A coalition for climate resiliency.”
The researchers aim to foster a new, innovative partnership between academic researchers and community partners that integrates expertise in homelessness, housing, environmental exposures, and public health to determine how housing policies can mitigate climate change-related health risks, specifically air pollution and extreme heat, among unhoused and housing insecure populations.
"Our research here tackles an existing problem that will only get worse under a changing climate: exposure to heat and air pollution in unhoused individuals," Ortiz said.
The project will utilize national-level housing, air quality, heat, demographic, and vulnerability data to identify U.S. counties that are at the greatest risk of climate change-related impacts to housing insecure and unhoused populations. The George Mason researchers are partnering with two non-profit organizations, Centro de Apoyo Familiar and The Lamb Center, to understand how environmental hazards related to climate change affect those experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. CAF is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing agency serving Washington metropolitan area residents. The Lamb Center is a daytime drop-in shelter for those experiencing homelessness in Fairfax, VA.
"Our team reflects the complexity of the problem, which requires integrating expertise in climate science, air quality modeling, and public health to adequately understand the impacts of a warming climate on an understudied and underserved population," Ortiz said. "With this project, we are extending our expertise beyond the university to meaningfully co-produce the science needed to quantify the problem and eventually design effective interventions."
They hold that their work will provide valuable insights for policymakers seeking to integrate climate resilience into housing policies, ultimately improving the health and well-being of those who are most at risk.
The researchers received $20,000 from The George Washington University on a subaward from the National Institutes of Health. Funding began in March 2025 and will end in late August 2025.
