WHAT IS THE COALiTION?
We are a diverse coalition of more than 80 nonprofit and for-profit developers, healthcare companies, service providers, policy organizations and advocates working to scale supportive housing options and ensure those with the most to gain from a home have what they need to heal and thrive.
Led by United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Citizens Housing and Planning Association, Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health and the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance we are uniting Massachusetts' housing and service ecosystems and harnessing the power of working together to end homelessness.
WHAT IS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING?
Supportive Housing pairs affordable housing that is safe, secure, and permanent, WITH services that are flexible, person-centered and voluntary to increase housing stability and improve wellbeing.
Now is the time to leverage these sectors and deliver housing solutions that work, and to leave no one behind.
We are working to ensure that everyone benefits from our housing investments – including, and especially, those who have the most to gain from them – our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness.
WHY THIS MATTERS
An average person would need to make $41.64 per hour to afford a two-bedroom rental at Fair Market Rent (FMR.) Add a major life event or chronic health condition, that challenge is compounded.
We can do better.
State leaders agree we need to produce 200,000 housing units, including 10,000 Supportive Housing units. These are fundamental to addressing the human and economic cost of chronic homelessness. Supportive Housing availability allows people to exit hospitals, child welfare, shelters, and unsheltered homelessness, and shift our investments toward permanent solutions. When everyone in our community has access to safe, and deeply affordable housing if they need it, our neighborhoods are safer and more peaceful for everyone.
Did You Know?
A 2020 study from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation found Supportive Housing tenants in Massachusetts used fewer emergency and acute health services, accessed more preventative care, and had decreased Medicaid costs.
Housing ChangeMakers
United in Purpose: Catalyst Housing by The Haven Project and Harborlight Homes
Catalyst Housing is a united effort to create pathways to stability for young adults (ages 18-24) who are just beginning to find their footing in the economy, helping them build independent, stable lives as they pursue their goals and dreams.
