Impact

UNITED WE FIGHT.  UNITED TO WIN. 

Affordable Homes Act Passage 

The Affordable Homes Act authorized $5.16 billion for housing over the next five years and included new policies aimed at aiding our collective efforts to build supportive housing, such as a Supportive Housing Pool Fund. This represents a new resource and approach to streamline and expand the production of housing with the services that individuals, families, youth and young adults need to exit homelessness, heal, and thrive. Modeled after legislation proposed by State Representative Joan Meschino and State Senator Brendan Crighton,  

  • Establishes a supportive housing initiative to finance Supportive Housing units for chronic and high-need populations experiencing homelessness that integrates supportive services, operating, and capital funding into one coordinated funding process through a collaboration between all relevant state funding agencies. 

  • Creates a public/private flexible fund to position the Commonwealth for significant private and philanthropic contributions to finance and scale up supportive housing and address funding gaps. This fund will be responsive to specific project needs, not limited by the local, state and federal requirements. 

COALITION POLICY AGENDA 

In 2021, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), and the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) launched a statewide Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition, with the goal of convening key leaders and stakeholders across all relevant systems and sectors to develop and advance a unified agenda for creating the permanent supportive housing (PSH) needed to address chronic and high need homelessness in MA.  

The Coalition is actively working on solutions. We have created a shared agenda. We established a partnership with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) and the regional planning bodies (CoCs) that coordinate housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals to leverage data for ending homelessness.   

But, while progress has been made, homelessness remains an alarming humanitarian and public health crisis. Far too many individuals and families with children are still experiencing chronic and high acuity homelessness. Many with disabling conditions and chronic health conditions are unable to access the housing they need until they become chronically homeless – all at a tremendous, and avoidable cost to their health, the future of the children, and the state.