The Opportunity Starts at Home podcast takes a deep look at opportunity in America, especially how housing shapes that opportunity. Of all the factors that affect our ability to thrive, both economically and socially, few are more important than the homes in which we are raised. Housing predicts the kind of neighborhood you’ll grow up in; the quality of school you’ll attend; and your access to transportation, amenities, resources, job opportunities, and social networks. Housing is simply fundamental to achieving the American Dream.
Intro/Closing Song by: David Szesztay - "Joyful Meeting"
URL:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/David_Szesztay/Acoustic_Guitar/Joyful_Meeting
Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Episode 53: Housing Stability and Health Equity for Children and Families
Safe, stable, and affordable housing is foundational to children’s well-being and long-term success. Decades of research show that when families can access quality homes in well-resourced neighborhoods, children experience better health outcomes, stronger educational attainment, and improved economic mobility over the course of their lives. Yet for millions of families across the United States, and disproportionately families of color, safe and stable housing remains out of reach. Guests Dr. Megan Sandel and Charlotte Bruce discuss the history of Children’s HealthWatch and the OSAH campaign’s partnership, why affordable housing matters to healthcare providers, and two new issue briefs, “Stable Homes, Healthy Children” and “A Foundation for Every Child,” that highlight the health impacts of housing instability and eviction on children and families, current threats to federal housing programs, and policy opportunities to ensure every child has a stable foundation from which to grow and thrive.
Read the briefs here: https://childrenshealthwatch.org/housing-is-a-foundation-for-child-health-evidence-policy-and-whats-at-stake/
20 Apr 2026
Episode 52: Animal Welfare, Disaster Recovery, and Housing Justice
Guests Christine Kim (My Dog is My Home), Shari Myers (The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies), and Meghan Mertyris (NLIHC's Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition) discuss the current federal landscape for pet-inclusive disaster housing response and recovery. While short-term protections exist, long-term protections and resources for disaster survivors with pets are limited. Expertise from both housing advocates and animal welfare advocates is critical to effectively expand the resources and protections available to survivors and their pets.
Join a Disaster Housing and Recovery Coalition (DHRC) Working Group: https://nlihc.org/disaster-housing-recovery-research-resilience
Learn more about the My Dog is My Home Co-Sheltering Collaborative: https://www.co-shelteringcollaborative.org/
Learn more about the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies: https://disasterstrategies.org/
Read the 2026 report on California's Pet Assistance and Support (PAS) program: https://hpri.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PAS-final-edits__HPRI-1_20.pdf
18 Dec 2025
Episode 51: Building Effective and Robust Cross-Sector Partnerships, An OSAH Roundtable Event
This episode is an audio recording of an Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) Campaign Roundtable event held in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2025. The event brought together campaign partners to reflect on campaign achievements, mobilize around priority bills, and discuss new strategies to further multi-sector collaboration for housing affordability. The episode features Renee M. Willis, NLIHC President and CEO, Chantelle Wilkinson, NLIHC Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Campaigns, May Louis-Juste, NLIHC Project Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Julie Walker, OSAH Campaign Project Manager, David Gonzalez Rice, NLIHC Senior Vice President of Public Policy, and Meghan Mertyris, NLIHC Disaster Recovery Policy Analyst.
Learn more about the OSAH Roundtable here: https://www.opportunityhome.org/organizations-2/opportunity-roundtable/
Who has been a guest on Opportunity Starts at Home
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Roberta Feldman
Nathan Rich
Emily Roush-Elliott
Christian Solorio
Katherine Williams
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 21 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
22
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
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