Public housing agencies (PHAs) play a critical role in providing young people with stable, affordable homes. Stable housing is essential for young people as they transition from adolescence to young adulthood; research shows that housing is vital for health and provides a foundation from which to pursue future education and employment
opportunities. Access to stable, affordable housing is all the more important given the myriad challenges they face—including high rates of housing insecurity, poverty, and employment instability, particularly among young people of color—that can be traumatic and contribute to physical and mental health problems. Moreover, the 
COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic impacts, such as inflation and rising rents, have made these challenges worse (Coffey, Hahn, and Adams 2021). In this brief, we first provide a population, demographic, and geographic overview of youth and young adults living in federally assisted housing. We summarize a few key points below and then provide detail on the three focus cities.