**Public Housing in Baby’s First Year Fuels Lifelong Wellbeing – New Study Reveals Lasting Impact**
New Zealand’s unaffordable housing market means low-income families face big constraints on their accommodation options. This involves often accepting housing that is insecure, cold, damp or in unsuitable neighbourhoods. But little is known about the impact of housing type early in life on children’s wellbeing over time. Using data from nearly 6,000 children in the Growing Up in New Zealand study, our new research compared outcomes for children provided with public housing support during the crucial earliest years (pregnancy through to nine months) with those in other types of housing. What we found supports ongoing investment in secure, quality housing as a way to reduce inequalities in New Zealand – particularly for those with very young children. Importantly, by the age of 12, children who started life in public housing had higher levels of wellbeing than some of their peers. Tracking wellbeing For our project, we used data on the type of housing at nine mon...