Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, executive director of Children’s HealthWatch, will headline the Housing Matters Symposium, an event annually presented by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund. This year’s event will focus on housing as a critical foundation for health and well-being.

Ettinger de Cuba is a nationally recognized health policy expert whose research has helped define a link between housing stability and health. She will talk about how safe, affordable housing acts as a form of preventive health care and what communities can do to close the gap between housing and better health for all. The event comes as Iowa faces rising housing costs and a growing need for coordinated solutions to prevent homelessness and reduce health system strain.

A recent Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by major regional health partners highlighted the increasing financial precarity, housing insecurity, and food insecurity facing the community.

The symposium will also preview major efforts underway across the state and region, including supportive housing initiatives that serve people with complex health needs or who are experiencing homelessness, the major new regional homelessness strategic plan that will be unveiled soon, and the launch of a Central Iowa Community Land Trust.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is from 8 to 11:30 a.m. May 1 at the Des Moines Heritage Center, 120 E. Fifth St. in Des Moines. For the full agenda or to register, click here.