In Sickness and in Wealth: Pre-viewing activity

Please answer the following questions below using the reply/comment section:

In the film we are about to watch, a woman-Angelique Anderson-says: “I always wanted to have a house with a big back yard…” Corey adds: “I want to own a house so that if anything happened to me, she wouldn’t be put out on the street.”

• What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?

• How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?

• How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?

25 thoughts on “In Sickness and in Wealth: Pre-viewing activity

  1. Question 1,
    If everyone had affordable quality and secure housing they may have alot less stress in their lives. You will not worry about were to live, how you will pay the rent, and how safe you might be or not be. As we know high levels of stress can contribute to a person overall health.

    Question 2,
    Ownership of a home in a community can and will lead to higher taxes being paid in that community which in turn will help pay for betters schools, more health care centers and better places to shop for food. If the neighborhood has these good things going for it more people will want to live and work there which keeps the cycle going.

    Question 3,
    It is not easy to find quality, affordable housing in my neighborhood. Over the last 10 years my neighborhood went from place where not many people wanted to live, to a place most people cannot afford to live. The parks were run down, the schools were bad and there were no restaurants that would deliver food to us. Now if we left our apartment we would not be able to stay in the neighborhood because it has become extremely expensive. (Prospect Heights)

  2. What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing? I think there are a few health benefits such as lowered stress because of security of have stable shelter, less stress from financial obligations because of the affordability of your housing, and the lack of exposure to health hazards that exist in substandard living spaces i.e lead paint, dirty conditions and exposure to things like asbestos.

    How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community? The lack of home ownership can stay to businesses that theirs no money in your community which can impede the upward progress of that community, also property taxes from home owners is often a direct refection of the quality of schooling in a community as well.

    How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    i find it quiet difficult to find affordable housing in my community. They say no more then 20% to 25% of your yearly salary should be spent on housing and i make a little more then the median salary in Brooklyn yet i have yet to find a place where rent fits into that suggest 25%. I find myself spending more then 35% of my yearly salary on rent. Which leaves little money to save, especially after tuition

  3. 1) Having affordable, quality and secure housing is a plus for everyone because it has a lot of positive benefits, especially for our health. This can reduce our stress level which help us to avoid a lot of health problems. The fact of having a secure housing, avoids the worry of finding a place to live and going from place to place.

    2) The lack of home ownership can affect a community because by not owning houses, then people is not paying enough taxes and as a matter of fact, the state does not provide all the resources that our community needs. Due to the lack of home ownership, there can be limited schools, hospitals and the quality of life can decrease due to this.

    3) In my community is very difficult to find affordable housing because now-a-days everything is way more expensive, especially the rent and it keeps increasing.

  4. 1) A person gets some type of mental strength about their life when they have affordable, quality and secure housing. It helps to reduce their stress because they do not have to worry about the high rent or any awareness about the quality of living. They also do not have to worry about their family safety when the house is secure.
    2) I think home ownership has some advantages and also disadvantages. If a person has a home ownership, it actually helps to create a solid bond in the community. People get to know each other very well. On the other hand, home ownership may cause a headache because it is not really easy to handle the mortgage and other bills.
    3) In my community it is really hard to find quality, affordable housing. It is also expensive to rent an apartment and honestly I also do not like my neighborhood. I personally looking for an apartment to move. It has been almost two months that I am looking for an apartment and still could not find any good quality and affordable one.

  5. What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?
    I think stress will decrease because a person knows he/she owns the house, despite the tax property, and if anything happens, their family will not stay in the streets neither will have to pay rent (considering the head of the family had life insurance).

    How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?
    I see a lot people living in the streets or always moving from place to place because of not having a fix living location to called home. Those that do have the opportunity, sometime don’t appreciate it. Now, the ones who own a house also have to pay big amounts of tax property a year. Also, anything goes bad in the house, electrical, plumbing, or regular maintenance, is an expense that must be cover by the house owner and sometimes owning a house may be worst than renting one.
    How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    It is extremely difficult, specially now days that a lot of new people are moving and many have no respect for their neighbors. This will have a negative impact in one’s health and future. Around my community, people do not own house because many of us can’t afford it or we just planning to move away from the city.

  6. 1. Having a home to go, is one of the biggest investments one will make in their lives; unfortunately many people can’t get a place to live. People with homes are able to go somewhere to protect them from many dangers including the elements like rain or snow or heat which can cause many illness also, people with no home many suffer from a lot more stress then those who do have a place to go.
    2. The lack of a home can result in an increase in crime. People grow angry and do thing they never thought they would do. I heard of one individual who would commit crimes on purpose in order to have shelter later in a prison. People start to become despite this results in a community where people with money start to leave. When people do have homes, and they are payed for people are less likely to see a reason to commit crime; the value of the community goes up, because there are not a lot of people out on the streets at night, people view it as a safer community.
    3. Finding good housing is easy for some, difficult for others, and near impossible for others. Some people can buy a house or rent a house with no problem if they know the right people, have the money, know the right information, and have good luck in real estate. For others, life has given them obstacles that results in them finding it more challenging to have good housing even if the government is trying to help with their situation. Houses are getting more expensive, and people are not able to keep up with the prices, people are moving out of their parents homes later than a generation ago. The reality for most Americans is that being a homeowner is not something likely for them because of the high costs. In the US, there are more vacant homes then homeless people, which in part is a result of greed for money.

  7. 1. Not having housing can cause serious stress on people’s mind. Eventually the stress will start to deteriorate their health. So having housing will bring peace of mind. Also owning a home gives you a sense of accomplishment and a better quality of life.

    2. Home ownership improves the community because property taxes often pay for schools, libraries, and hospitals. This promotes quality of life for the community as a whole and shows progress in the community.

    3. Finding affordable housing in my community is like finding a needle in a hay stack. Around where I live a studio can go from $800 plus. So housing is always a stress in our lives. With gentrification at a rise, is just a matter of time before we can’t afford our housing.

  8. 1. The health benefits resulting from affordable, quality and secure housing are plenty. First and foremost, with housing secured an individual or family obtains stability; a stable person is less stressed and therefore their immune system maintains its strength and they will be less susceptible to disease.

    2. Home ownership (or lack thereof) impacts the community in many ways. Owning a home benefits, the community as a whole as consistent long term residents create a sense of belonging and commitment to the area. These same people will have a vested interested in maintaining the integrity and quality of the neighborhood due to the fact that they and their children benefit from a safe area. Crime consequently should be reduced.

    3.N.Y.C is notoriously known for a lack of affordable housing. In my community it also applies. Rent stabilized units are rare and living in a market rate apartment is outside of the average working class person’s affordability reach. The Mayor is currently making an effort to create more affordable units, however this is an immediate urgent need for all working residents.

  9. 1) What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?
    It mostly a peace of mind at the end of the day, which leads to less stress, better immune health and better mental health. This will reflect on your everyday potential do better at work and even help with family stability.

    2) How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?
    With the lack of home ownership, I feel the families in my community that can afford to buy a home, but can’t afford to buy one in their current community are forced to move elsewhere. The families are doing what’s best for their family so they can grow wealth instead of pay rent and also have house they can call home, but when these family leave they take their money out of my community and over time it starts affecting the people who still live in the community.

    3) How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    Today, especially in my community it’s become one the most difficult place to afford even a studio apartment which can run from $1200 – $1600. Every year rent goes up another 1% – 2 %, the quality of the 4×4 room you are renting doesn’t look any better.

  10. 1) Affordable and safe housing is significantly related to positive health outcomes. It is observed that when less than 30% of the income is spent on housing and related expenses, people can spend more on their health. Excessive housing costs strain the budget and cause the families to experience stress. Affordable and sustainable housing reduces the level of stress among the families which lead to a healthy life. Secure housing schemes reduce the environmental effects on health. Accidental burns and other incidents that are more frequent in the substandard housing projects are reduced leading to better health of the families. Access to better opportunities in the neighborhood also reduces the stress.

    2) Home ownership can draw many benefits for the community. In my community, I have seen many benefits of home ownership and problems due to lack of home ownership. It can be seen that the people who own a house have better educational achievements, civil participation and health benefits whereas those who don’t lack these advantages.

    3) It is very hard to find affordable housing in my community. In home ownership it is easy because most of the people in my area owns their own home. When it comes to renting, most people prefer now and days to move to other stated that are more affordable.

  11. 1.Affordable quality secure housing can result in health benefits. When you have a steady secure home it can result in steady life; routine life; stability; higher self-esteem; feeling more positive is good for mental health all of these can lead to lower stress levels.

    2.The way I see it, being a home owner helps improves lives and brings positivity in the community where as not having a home can bring lot of negativity in the community it can result in crimes and increase of homelessness.

    3.I think this question has two answers, it all depends on someone’s financial status, for someone who makes more money it would be easy to find quality affordable housing in the community. And for people that don’t make enough money or are financially unstable it would be very had to find quality housing.

  12. At first i thought, Having a house is a lot of work & responsibility, but if it is affordable, have good quality and secure, then it can offer all the perks of having something of your own. it is the American dream to own a house and if someone can achieve that then they have made the American dream. It is beneficial for the kids, I believe their is a study about kids growing up in a family own house vs growing up in a a rented apartment. kids growing up in a house tent to do better, have more confidence, and do well in school.
    having a house brings you up in the socioeconomic status, I believe that people who can only afford to rent are living in poverty, people who can afford to have a house are in the middle class, and of course there are levels of housing that can range from one family house to a mansion which represent your wealth and social status.
    given the market crash, it was easy to find foreclosures if you have enough money to put down, because now there is new regulations in place that you have to have a certain percentage of down payment to be able to secure a loan. unlike before the housing market crash, anyone with any type of income was able to secure a loan which caused the market to crash. so it is getting hard to find findings for a loan.

  13. Affordable and quality housing is very useful for providing a healthy lifestyle. As this allows people more freedom in terms of recreational activity as well as financial safety. Some benefits might include better options in terms of customize-ability: which provides both recreational benefits as well as physical benefits to the person. Another reason why this is useful is that location would benefit the person as it would allow people better access to jobs or schools. I say this because some people travel hours to get to work because housing is too expensive in NY

    Being a homeowner allows people to do more recreational activity without worrying about paying the next months rent. Also being a homeowner allows you to have more authority in your housing. In my community owning a house is just a status symbol but not one that really affect peoples views too much, as pretty much 90% of the community are home owners.

    However finding affordable quality housing in my area is relatively easy. As I live in Queens, rent in the area isnt too high and housing quality is pretty standard.

  14. • What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?

    There are many health benefits that might derive from affordable, quality, and secure housing. For example, I would expect stress levels and high blood pressure to decrease compared to someone who does not have the luxury of having quality housing. However, it depends on the country and standards of life. In some places in Africa, people live in tents where security can be an issue. However, they may not experience stress the way an American experiences it because Americans live up to a certain quality and standard of life. Health benefits such as clean water and privacy as well can derive from quality housing.

    • How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?

    In my community, there is a lack of home ownership. Fortunately, I was blessed to live in a house owned by my parents. My house is the only house on the block. I feel like at least having shelter and a roof over my head is a blessing enough yet shouldn’t be an issue that should affect the conditions of the community. As Americans, we live up to the “American Dream” in which motivates others to want a house. Rent is high and so is mortgage. Everything is getting expensive.
    Another point I’ll like to add is the the way you treat your home is the way you treat the community. I’ve been into several rented apartments in my area, and the living conditions inside, isn’t a sight to see. Which can raise health hazards. This effects the community because there is litter all over. This also raised a sanitation issue as well in the community.

    • How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?

    It is difficult ALL over to find quality, affordable housing. As stated previously, rent, mortgage, and taxes are getting expensive. There are so much homeless people living without homes. It is very difficult to find housing especially to meet standards of particular people in which may play a role on decision making. For example, areas which are best for schooling and no crime rate

  15. Stress can be very detrimental to our own health. It can lead to many diseases like cardiovascular problems and obesity. Owning a quality and secure housing will probably decrease the amount of stress. Paying rent is a hassle that can build up stress. Finance is a big factor that contributes to people’s stress levels. Not having that security will definitely increase our stress. Our physical and mental health is related to having a home that is safe and free from physical hazards. Poor housing conditions are associated with health problems.

    Housing prices are very high and there is no control over it. Recently I been trying to buy my own house and I am having a hard time. The market and my income is stopping me. Reason why people are unable to pay housing. It will add stress to your daily hassles. Living in a good place will decrease your stress. Home ownership lets others have a better environment and less chaos. When one doesn’t have shelter, they are out in the street and exposed to an unhealthy environment. Living in a train or poor area is not safe. But rather if you own a house or don’t, it doesn’t affect others. It only affects you and your health.

    I would say that finding quality, affordable housing in my community is hard. Queens rent continues to rise every year and the development of more expensive apartments. It is more difficult to for those who are in the low or middle classes. I am say I have not been in the streets because the first thing my mom did was come to this country and buy a house. We both been working g so hard to keep our house, and now I am trying to buy my own. It is not easy , and renting from other is harder, you can be kicked out basically anytime the own wants.

  16. With an affordable, quality and secure home, one’s stress level will be tremendously reduce as they do not have to worry about paying a land lord rent and getting put out onto the streets in a worst case scenario. It also shows a sign of higher level of status in todays society compared to others whom pays monthly rent.

    Owning or lack of owning a home can affect one’s community in different ways. With home owners located in your community can tremendously raise thats community. It is also shown to be much safer for one’s property as well as kids. The atmosphere in that community tends to be lighter and more friendly.

    I currently live in manhattan, a very busy community with a mixture or poor, middle and upper class individuals. They aren’t many homes located in manhattan (my community) as they are mainly apartment buildings or private homes that are then turned into rented apartments. This makes it very hard for individuals as they have to be placed on a list for sometimes years to wait until an apartment becomes available or for a new complex to be built.

  17. • What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?
    I think that affordable, quality, and secure housing will create better health benefits because people will be able to lead more stable lifestyles when they have consistent and quality housing. Housing is a necessity and giving people the access to better housing gives people the opportunity to have a better quality of life. When you are uncertain about your living arrangements it can be a very stressful, and it can cause negative impacts to your mental, and financial state.

    • How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?
    I think that home ownership actual encourages a positive community because people who own homes are more likely to remain in the community rather than those who rent who are more likely to move around. Therefore you consistently have the same people around, so people are able to bond and develop good relationships.

    • How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    I think it is very hard to find quality, affordable housing in my community and in New York in general. The amount we pay to rent small apartments here in New York, we could be paying the same amount in other states like Florida for entire houses. New York offers options for subsidized housing, but the waiting lists are long and extensive and usually lottery based. If you are one of the lucky ones who meet the criteria and qualify, you are then placed into a pool of thousands of other applicants.

  18. Having affordable, quality, and secure housing helps people feel less stressed. Having a stable home in a safe neighborhood allows people to roam around freely and be more active and happier about their surroundings. They would also be less worried about losing their homes as well since it is affordable. A good home increases quality of life and decrease in stress which increases overall health.

    My community has many apartment buildings and just a many private houses. It is a mixed income community and it is in a very busy and social area. There are many restaurants, shops, salons aetc. that cater to the mixed income population. It is an expensive place to buy a house right now but the schools are very good and all in all it is a safe neighborhood.

    It isn’t that easy to find affordable housing in my community. The houses are quite expensive unless you move away from the train/bus stops. The rent for apartments are going up drastically because of all the young people moving in that can afford the rent and families are moving out to more affordable areas. The homes are great and it is a great area but requires a decent income to buy or rent here now.

  19. 1. Housing is an important determinant of health, and substandard housing is a major public health issue. Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory infections, asthma, lead poisoning, injuries, and mental health. Features of substandard housing, including lack of safe drinking water, absence of hot water for washing, ineffective waste disposal, intrusion by disease vectors (insects and rats) and inadequate food storage have long been identified as contributing to the spread of infectious diseases. Crowding is associated with transmission of tuberculosis and respiratory infections. Lack of housing and the overcrowding found in temporary housing for the homeless also contribute to morbidity from respiratory infections and activation of tuberculosis. Substandard housing may also adversely affect mental health, although the evidence is more tentative. As we all know, there are a lot of health benefits when people can get affordable, quality and secure housing, because all the issues above will not be present.
    2. In my community, there are many homeowners, many more that public housings; still, the area is quiet and safe. I think that having your own home gives you and your family stability, family security and peace of mind, because you do not have to pay for something that will never be your, but pay for a house that will yours at the end payments. You have les changes of sickness, and if you can afford to buy a house is because you social economic status is a middle class, assuming you have some education, I will love for everyone to be an homeowners, but not everyone set high standards, and this got to do a lot with education achievement.
    3. Rapid urbanization is necessitating more access to housing half of humanity now lives in cities. We need to examine how to improve the quality of housing for poor and working class families. That means making sure that everyone can find safe, decent, affordable housing within reach of where they work, shop, study, and play. We need to find the way to make current housing affordable, at ways to build better low- and moderate-income housing, and at using existing buildings to help create a community where everyone has a good place to live. It’s difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community or in New York were the rent is so high as well of the cost of living.

  20. What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?
    The health benefits that comes from having affordable, quality, and secure housing is the fact that a person will have to worry about less stress. So a person worrying about whether or not they would be able to pay their rent or choosing between that and feeding their families, it could potentially cause them to get hypertension or many other illnesses.

    • How does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?
    In my community there is a lack of homeownership causing many shelters, crime, and poor education in my community. Due to the fact that there is a lack of homeownership, gentrification is happening in my community and the prices of rents is going up, therefore is they are many shelters and homeless people in my neighborhood. They is also occasionally crime because people cannot support themselves and their families.

    • How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    It is somewhat easy to find affordable housing in Brooklyn. They are so called ‘affordable housing’ going up everywhere. However, the income levels that a person must meet to move into the newer sites, many do not meet. Where I live in Bed stuy, it is mixed income but the rents are going up due to gentrification and many of the NYCHA are filled causing people to remain in shelters or homeless. Overall depending on where you choose to live, it could be pretty difficult to find affordable housing.

  21. 1. Having a secure affordable and quality home is good because there is less stress which means less health problems. You wont have to be worrying about paying rent and all the stress that comes with if your able to pay the rent on time or not. Less stress means a better healthy lifestyle.
    2. Having a home can be a good thing because the taxes that you pay for your property will help your community with school activities or repairs around the neighborhood. Also having a home is a problem that comes with owning a home for example the mortgage you have to pay and the repairs and maintenance that comes with owning a home which means spending a lot of money.
    3. Finding a house around my neighborhood is hard because mostly there is buildings and there are houses but they are just renting each floor and if you are considering to buy a house they ask for way too much than the house is actually worth so basically finding a house is possible but finding a affordable house is impossible.

  22. Owning one’s owns home is considered one of the bedrocks of the American dream. The benefits of homeownership are many. Mainly it can be a relief knowing that one’s family will always have a roof over their heads and not be stress that one’s family will end up on the street homeless. In the long term home ownership, in most markets, has been provide to be a good financial investment. However, this is mainly true once a person has paid off their house. Most people in most housing markets are unable to afford to pay for the home in full at the time of purchase. Almost all people need to take out a mortgage when buying a house. In addition to monthly mortgage payments, most homes need some type of repair before moving in. In addition to paying for the actual home, there are many extra fee that need to be paid at closing time, this includes lawyer and brokers fees. The reality is that many homeowners go to bed at night worrying about which surprise cost might come up tomorrow, ex. leak in roof or boiler that dies suddenly, each can cost about 10,000. Essentially if someone has a mortgage, the bank is their land lord and the bank is not required to make any repairs. If for any reason the monthly payment can’t be made on time, the owner will incur many extra fees and penalties. The stress of thinking I might loss my home and all the extra money that was initially invested can be severe.

    So while there are many health benefits that do come out of home self-ownership, we do need to consider the stresses that come along with home ownership and if it’s possible to achieve secure housing without gaining a new and possibly a greater stress.

    Currently in my community it’s almost impossible to find affordable housing.
    One bedroom apartments cost fifteen hundred dollars per month and home ownership starts at a minimal of eight hundred thousand with a few more hundred thousand needed for repairs. My wife’s ground father bought his two family home fifty years ago asking price at that time was 40 thousand dollars. He bargained and paid 37 thousand dollars. Today it wound sell for over one million. Interesting to note, my wife grandfather was a career teachers who fifty years ago his yearly salary was about 5 thousand dollar per year. While we might think wow houses were so cheap why did he not buy more?
    My grandfather said that there were times that he had a hard time paying his monthly mortgage and was at risk of losing his home and life investment.

    Due to the increase in housing prices many newly married people are moving out of my community and opting to live in cheaper more affordable communities. Some people are even saying that my community in 15 / 20 years will be comprised primarily of senior citizens with no youth, as the next generation is being forced out due to the increased housing costs.

  23. The health benefits that might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing is that you have more resources available to you which helps live a healthier life style than ones in poverty. Home ownership affects conditions in our communities because in a poverty community there aren’t much resources available to you. For example, in the video they said you wouldn’t find supermarkets in low income neighborhoods compared to higher class neighborhoods. This can effect health on ones lifestyle.
    In New York City its hard to find quality an affordable living. I do real estate and the cost for an average home in the lowest income neighborhood is about 250k+. Other countries or areas outside of NYC are much more affordable and have much more quality.

  24. • What health benefits might derive from affordable, quality and secure housing?
    Having a place to call your own may eliminate a known cause of stress. Having a place to stay will help a person stay clean, organized and store food. Secure housing also allows one to sleep soundly, exercise if they choose, entertain and pursue art.

    cHow does home ownership (or its lack) affect conditions in your community?
    There is a lot of homelessness in my area, as well as small apartments that groups of people live in. However, ownership of a place is not necessarily common in my area, renting and subletting are much more common.

    • How easy or difficult is it to find quality, affordable housing in your community?
    I would say it is very difficult to find affordable housing in Manhattan. If you are fine with a very small apartment, huge rent, or a bunch of roommates then you won’t have trouble finding A place to live. That place will not be considered “affordable” unless you already have a pretty large amount of money (and if you did it is less likely to live in my specific neighborhood.

  25. 1) In my opinion, if anybody could afford a secure, affordable and quality housing people will not have to worry about the rent monthly. even thus they have to pay the mortgage, but at least, it would not be the same way as the rent, every year, or every two years the landlords increase the rent, even that you don’t have your privacy. For the mortgage,as long you have a fix one it will stay the same for quiet time. Having a house, will definitely lower the chance of having high blood pressure, and others stressful illness.

    2) I think, home ownership is very helpful in certain ways. By owning a house you don’t have to move to others places whenever the landlord has decided to increase the rent. And also, having a house, people might feel safe by knowing their neighbors for quiet times, if they want they can work together to develop that community even more.

    3) My community is the worst place to find an affordable house where the landlords are asking$ 1400 for 1 bedroom, or $ 2000 for 2 bedrooms apartments. It is even more difficult, because in my community everything is close by and it is a very quiet area. Even thus you are making money, i don’t think you can buy a house in this community .

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