Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless

Founded in 1981, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is committed to ensuring that everyone has a place to call home. The Coalition's policy work and programs address this issue on three fronts. First, the Coalition provides bridges over short-term crisis, helping homeless and at-risk people to relocate quickly into new housing or avoid homelessness altogether. Second, the Coalition works to ensure adequate and appropriate shelter if homelessness is unavoidable. Third, the Coalition advocates for long-term solutions to the housing crisis, promoting government support for income and housing resources so that all Massachusetts residents can obtain and maintain safe, affordable housing. As the Coalition works to address the causes, not just the symptoms of homelessness, it remains committed to creating opportunities for families and individuals to advocate for their own needs.

MCH Programs

First Stop Initiative, An Early Warning/Homelessness Prevention Collaborative: Prevention is Key

The First Stop Initiative places experienced advocates in community-based venues including community health centers and Boston elementary schools, providing housing clinics to help households who are at-risk of homelessness access a range of resources and services to stabilize their housing situations. The project’s objective is to help consumers maximize their income and obtain supports necessary to stabilize their housing through early intervention. The key to a successful early warning system is to reach people “where they are”…. in other words, to integrate these prevention programs into the fabric of the services low income families and individuals use on a regular basis. By embedding homelessness prevention into the services provided by health centers and school systems at-risk households can seamlessly and easily access the help they need to stabilize their housing situation and avoid homelessness entirely.

The Furniture Bank: Furnishing the Future

The Furniture Bank, the Coalition’s direct service program, works with thousands of homeless families and individuals making the transition from homelessness to a home of their own by providing them with donated furniture and household goods. The Furniture Bank assists over 3,200 households a year with the basics to make a house a home. The Furniture Bank created the KIDZ Project in response to the growing number of homeless children in Massachusetts - now the largest segment of homeless people in our state and across the country. The project provides material assistance to homeless children in the form of household furnishings, children's items, new toys, back-to-school supplies, and other seasonal items. Last year the KIDZ Project helped over 2,500 homeless children.

Education and Training: Promoting Expertise and Action in the Community

The Coalition has long recognized that knowledge can empower individuals and make significant changes on a legislative level. The Coalition hosts monthly membership meetings in Boston and Western Massachusetts, and co-hosts a monthly meeting in Central Massachusetts to provide opportunities for service providers, community activists and concerned residents to learn from each other, obtain information about changes in state and federal programs, gather information on pending legislation and work together for needed reforms. These regional meetings provide the Coalition with input from advocates and providers through the state regarding local trends and needs, helping to shape the Coalition’s public policy campaigns. Through our “In the Know Training Series”, the Coalition works to educate direct service workers about the range of housing and benefits programs available to help homeless and at-risk households stabilize their situations. These trainings provide workers with the tools to effectively link their clients to needed services. By supplying up-to-date information on federal emergency benefit programs, tenant rights and affordable housing resources, direct line workers can more appropriately advise their clients about their options. The Coalition’s FIAT program educates members of faith communities and other community networks regarding the nature of homelessness within the Commonwealth, steps that can be taken to address this issue and the important role concern residents can play in promoting real solutions to this crisis both within their communities and the state at large.

Public Policy Initiatives: A Key to Change