United Way to invest $950,000 in bold approach to end homelessness

Funds represent largest single private investment in the region to advance “Housing First”

BOSTON – United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley is today announcing it will invest $950,000 in local nonprofit organizations that are working to end homelessness by putting the cutting-edge “Housing First” philosophy into practice. The new funds represent the largest single private investment in the region into the Housing First approach, which seeks to change the way homeless families and individuals are served by placing them in housing as a first step and providing home-based case management. It is based on the premise that individuals and families are more responsive to interventions and support once they are in permanent housing.

Beginning this month, United Way will invest $750,000 in 14 organizations in Boston, Cambridge, Lynn, Lowell, Malden, Quincy and Somerville to expand the work of agencies using the Housing First approach or to enable agencies to shift their homelessness services in this direction. An additional $200,000 will be invested over the course of this fiscal year.

“Our current homeless shelter system was designed 30 years ago as a response to an emerging problem, and has resulted in a system of managing homelessness rather than ending homelessness,” said Jeffery Hayward, senior vice president for community impact at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “Research and practice are showing that putting people experiencing homelessness into housing first helps them to more quickly and efficiently stabilize their lives and become more self-sufficient. United Way’s investment will enable programs that are already working to build on their success while enabling other agencies to begin using a Housing First philosophy.”

This year in Massachusetts, 10,500 families will experience homelessness. A 2003 study by One Family, Inc, notes that this is more than a 100 percent increase since 1990. While the emergency shelter system is a critical safety net for these families in crisis, studies are showing that children living in a shelter system suffer unintentional social, emotional and educational harm that is often irreparable. The National Center on Family Homelessness reports that within a year, 41 percent of homeless children will attend two different schools and 28 percent will attend three different schools. Health risks homeless children experience include: four times higher rate of asthma; seven times higher rate of anemia; four times higher rate of learning disabilities; and three times higher rate of emotional and behavioral problems.

“United Way is to be commended for a vision that moves beyond simply funding good intentions and well meaning programs to investing in the field tested, evidence-based, and results-oriented innovation of Housing First,” indicated Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, point person in the federal government to reduce and end homelessness. “United Way has partnered with communities across Massachusetts to create 10-year plans to end homelessness for the most disabled and vulnerable. Plans informed by business principles, consumer preferences, and performance objectives. Investing in Housing First is a tangible expression of United Way’s commitment to reduce and end homelessness and to create visible and quantifiable change on our streets, in our neighborhoods, and in the lives of our poorest neighbors.”

Research shows that providing housing first is a more cost-effective and less expensive approach than providing services first. Estimates show that more than $238 million is spent by the Commonwealth to manage homelessness, with the cost of a shelter room in Massachusetts averaging $48,000 per year. For an average of $2,200 per year per family, Housing First can be implemented through prevention and rapid re-housing services.

The programs that United Way is investing in this year include some with proven track records in Housing First. Shelter, Inc., based in Cambridge, has been cited as a national model for transitional housing services by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and has helped 80% of families completing its programs to move into permanent housing. Almost 100% of the children served by Shelter, Inc. participate in productive educational or day care programs and exhibit a reduction in stress-related behavior. Grants will also support Quincy Community Action Programs and Father Bill’s Place in Quincy – a city which has been recognized by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness for its efforts. According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, three years after Housing First methods became a fixture in Quincy, the number of occupied emergency shelter beds decreased by 56 percent.

The Housing First grants were made possible by a new United Way investment strategy which was announced this spring. The strategy was created to drive the greatest possible impact in United Way’s focus areas by tying the organization’s investments to specific goals and measurements. One such goal is to end family homelessness by increasing the number of homeless service agencies operating under a “Housing First” philosophy. In addition to moving into a Housing First philosophy, United Way’s strategy also includes measures to support overall access to affordable housing, including increasing the number of individuals who gain financial skills and assets, helping families obtain and retain housing, and increasing the overall number of affordable housing units in our region. By 2010 United Way aims to serve 9,900 people under the Housing First philosophy.

The $750,000 in United Way Housing First grants announced today will be invested the following organizations:

Community Teamwork, Inc., of Lowell: To develop a landlord-tenant matching resource and augment its Stabilized Housing for Individuals and Families in Transition (SHIFT) coalition, a collaboration of more than 30 providers who are committed to ending homelessness through the Housing First methodology.

Crittenton Women’s Union: To pilot a post-placement follow-up case management model with the Housing First grant. The case management model will help individuals and families who have been placed in housing to stabilize their lives, gain skills and become more self-sufficient.

Father’s Bill’s Place: To enhance its existing Housing First program, by hiring additional direct care and case management staff, improving technology, and developing further evaluation measures. The grant will also aid in the development of an advisory board for the creation of the Southeastern Massachusetts plan to end homelessness.

Home Start: To hire a full-time Housing Advocate dedicated to helping clients of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence move to permanent housing.

Housing Families, Inc.: To convene a working group of mixed stakeholders, with representatives from non-profit organizations, municipal offices, elected officials, the real estate and banking industries, and faith communities. It will also identify best practices in Massachusetts and nationally, and develop a pilot model with specific plans for implementation and evaluation.

Quincy Community Action Programs: To develop an early warning system, hire a Housing First Coordinator, and develop a more thorough and strategic assessment tool for staff to use when working with families.

Serving People In Need (SPIN): To help grow partnerships with housing providers, design case management protocols consistent with Housing First methodology, develop a housing first program structure and coordinate a home-based service team to continue stabilization efforts.

The Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center: To increase their network of landlord partners, determine the most efficient way to produce affordable units, train case managers in best practices in home-based service delivery and develop a database of support services for the Greater Boston Area.

Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership: To hire staff for a pilot Housing First case management program, to recruit participants through the Boston Homelessness Prevention Clearinghouse and the Housing Consumer Education Center and to provide housing search, benefits enrollment, and family self-sufficiency services

Homes for Families: To hold a forum on possible collaborations and best practices for a Housing First program and to provide technical assistance for service-providers around Housing First advocacy.

Shelter, Inc.: To support a case manager to provide intensive support services for 10 families recently referred to a Shelter, Inc. emergency shelter and to further place families in apartments throughout Greater Boston.

Somerville Community Corporation: To support a fundraising position, the development of case management capacity, and to launch asset building programming.

Travelers Aid Family Services: To provide housing development programming by enabling the organization to hire appropriate staff.

Project Hope: To build the housing department staff and train them in Housing First methods. To build formal relationships with the landlord community and a formal partnership with the local Department of Transitional Assistance.

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