At UNB, research isn't just about data it's about people. That ethos is at the core of a new project led by Dr. Julia Woodhall-Melnik, associate professor of sociology and Canada Research Chair in Resilient Communities.
Her latest project, "Staying Housed: Working Alongside Lived Experts to Establish Programs and Policies That Improve Housing Stability in Individuals Waiting for Subsidized Housing," has received more than $250,000 in SSHRC funding over four years.
A project led by UNB researcher Dr. Julia Woodhall-Melnik is uncovering how New Brunswickers survive years of housing unaffordability, and co-designing solutions with those living it.
Woodhall-Melnik conducts her research alongside fellow researchers and students at the Housing, Mobilization, Engagement and Resiliency Lab (HOME-RL) at UNB's Saint John campus.
The Staying Housed project is exploring the extended periods often years that individuals and families spend waiting for subsidized housing while living in unaffordable rental situations.
"We're really interested in how people manage to live unaffordably for so long without losing their housing," said Woodhall-Melnik.
"We're looking at both formal and informal supports that they use and seeing if there's a way to offer a comprehensive package of programs, interventions, services and policies that could help prevent homelessness."
The Staying Housed project is a spin-off of a larger CIHR-funded study exploring the relationship between physical and mental health and the experience of waiting for, and moving into, subsidized housing. That earlier research revealed a troubling reality: Many individuals on New Brunswick's social housing waitlist may never receive housing due to the province's limited supply.
"Right now, we have 13,000 households on the waitlist, and the Government of New Brunswick operates fewer than 5,000 units," Woodhall-Melnik said. "Last year, 106 units were built the first in 40 years. It's a drop in the bucket."
This new phase of research aims to understand how people survive in unaffordable housing conditions, and to co-create solutions with those who live in these conditions every day.
HOME-RL is deeply committed to community-engaged research. For this project, the team will hire individuals with lived experience of housing unaffordability to conduct interviews and participate in focus groups.
"Not only are we doing research with lived experts, but they'll be the ones primarily tasked with asking the interview questions and running the interviews," she said. "It's about designing interventions that are truly informed by those who experience housing instability first-hand."
The project will culminate in a province-wide workshop with government partners to translate findings into actionable policy.
The implications of this work go far beyond housing. Woodhall-Melnik's earlier research found that individuals on the housing waitlist reported significantly lower health scores than the general population, averaging just 54 out of 100 in self-perceived physical health.
"Financial stressors are both a cause and consequence of poor health. Improving affordability should have a massive impact on health and well-being, and even a generational impact," she said.
"Kids who grow up under chronic financial stress are more likely to develop health issues later in life. If we can stabilize housing, we're not just helping individuals, we're improving outcomes for entire generations."
From mutual aid networks to rent banks and food programs, the Staying Housed project is mapping an ecosystem of support that could bolster resilience and wellness in the face of unaffordable living conditions.
"We've always focused on the folks who experience the housing crisis most acutely but who are usually more ignored," she said. "It's time we listened, learned and acted."
If you are struggling with the impacts of living unaffordably, New Brunswick does have some resources that can help. Many are listed through the 211 database.
