Dr. Molly Richard

Biography

Molly Richard is a community-engaged researcher focused on homelessness, housing, and the social determinants of health. Dr. Richard’s interdisciplinary research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the systems that drive and sustain homelessness and to identify effective policy solutions. Molly’s research aims to advance equity in housing and health by informing homelessness response strategies at local, state, and national levels, as well as broader housing, health, and social welfare policy. Dr. Richard also serves as Director of Applied Learning for the University of Rhode Island’s Master of Public Health Program, integrating action-oriented research and teaching to prepare students for public health practice.

Education

  • Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
  • M.S., Vanderbilt University
  • B.A., Vassar College

Selected Publications

Richard, M. K. (In press). Homelessness and race: The impact of structural conditions on Back, White, and Latine homelessness.” Social Problems. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaf044

Richard, M. K. & Rule, K.G. (2024). Community-level predictors of doubled-up homelessness. Journal of Urban Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2024.2308510

Richard, M. K., Dworkin, J., Rule, K.G., Farooqui, S., Glendening, Z., & Carlson, S. (2024). Quantifying doubled-up homelessness: Presenting a new measure using U.S. Census microdata. Housing Policy Debate. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1981976 .

Richard, M. K., & Shinn, M. (2024). Preventing and ending family homelessness. In Culhane, Fitzpatrick, Johnson, Metraux, & O’Sullivan (Eds.), Research Handbook on Homelessness. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800883413.00040

Richard, M. K. (2023). Race matters in addressing homelessness: A scoping review and call for critical research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 72(3-4), 464–485. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12700

Mullen, E. J., Ghesquiere, A., Dinan, K., Richard, M., K. Kealey, E., Zuiderveen, S., & Shinn, M. (2022). Periodic evaluations of risk assessments: Identifying families for homelessness prevention services. Housing Policy Debate, 32(6), 915-939. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2022.2077801

Shinn, M., & Richard, M. K.  (2022). Allocating homeless services after the withdrawal of the Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool. American Journal of Public Health, 112(3), 378-382. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306628

*Olivet, J., *Wilkey, C., *Richard, M. K., *Dones, M., Yampolskaya, S., Beit-Arie, M., & Joseph, L. (2021). *[Multiple first authors]. Racial inequity and homelessness: Findings from the SPARC Study. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 693(1), 82-100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716221991040

Olivet, J., Dones, M., & Richard, M. (2018). The intersection of homelessness, racism, and mental illness. In M. Medlock, D. Shatsel, N.T. Trinh, & D.R. Williams (Eds.) Racism and Psychiatry (pp. 55-69). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90197-8_4

Unick, G. J., Bassuk, E. L., Richard, M. K, & Paquette, K. (2018). Organizational trauma-informed care: Associations with individual and agency factors. Psychological Services, 16(1), 134-142. http://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000299

Bassuk, E. L., Unick, G. J., Paquette, K., & Richard, M. K. (2016). Developing an instrument to measure organizational trauma-informed care in human services: The TICOMETER. Psychology of Violence, 7(1), 150-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000030

Bassuk, E. L., Richard, M. K., & Tsertsvadze, A. (2015). The prevalence of mental illness in homeless children: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(2), 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2014.11.008

Bassuk, E. L,  DeCandia, C., Tsertsvadze, A., & Richard, M. K. (2014). The effectiveness of housing interventions housing and service interventions on ending family homelessness: A systematic review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 457–474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000020