We mobilize all of our partners to participate in creating and advocating for public policies to end family homelessness. We meet with state legislators and policy makers to educate them about homelessness and to work for effective, permanent solutions. We reach out to homeless families to be informed by their experiences, to provide them with information about changing public policy, and, together, to be involved in creating solutions. And we work with providers, universities, developers, coalitions and advocates to ensure that all stakeholders contribute to the solutions.

At Homes For Families, we:

  • Bring together stakeholders to understand the root causes of family homelessness and to create and implement effective, permanent solutions. Each of our partners contributes a unique and vital perspective.
    • Families are the experts in the causes of and solutions to homelessness; they have lived it, therefore have a distinct understanding.
    • Policy makers create legislation, programs and budgets; they have an overall picture of feasibility throughout the state.
    • Providers provide shelter to families, and understand community issues that effect families.
    • Academics have access to research to understand and methods to evaluate effectiveness of initiatives.
    • Developers know what resources and regulations need to be in place to build housing for families.
    • Coalitions and advocates have a history of creative solutions for ending family homelessness and advocating for change.
  • Focus on creating permanent and near-term solutions and emergency responses, including:
    • Housing affordable to families with extremely low incomes;
    • Homelessness prevention resources;
    • Access to education, training and jobs that pay a living wage; and
    • Adequate and appropriate emergency shelter.

HOUSING POLICY ACHIEVEMENTS

HFF is committed to pursuing holistic solutions to homelessness that break down the barriers that keep families poor. We believe that homelessness is caused by a lack of housing that is affordable to very low-income families. Family homelessness will never end until there exists access to affordable housing for all who need it. To this end, we have:

  • Identified and initiated an awareness of the need for resources for the creation and preservation of and access to affordable housing for the lowest income families
    (defined by earning less than 30% of the area median income) and educated others
    about this need    . We defined the problem to policy makers, developers, shelters and
    others across the state working for affordable housing resources.
  • Won housing resources for families who are homeless or extremely low-income.
    These wins include the targeting of housing units and development dollars to homeless
    and low-income families as part of the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing
    Bond Bill    , and Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
  • Won an increase of $1.6 million to the state housing subsidy program, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, ensuring that more housing is available to very low income households.
  • Created a homelessness prevention program in Boston that has prevented the homelessness of over 260 families. Our program data and design was used as the
    model for the new state prevention program created in 2004, Residential Assistance
    for Families in Transition. The state program has prevented the homelessness of
    over 1,250 families since its inception in September.


ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND SHELTER POLICY ACHIEVEMENTS

In addition to our housing policy wins, other successes include:

  • Protection of the shelter safety net to assist families when they become homeless.
    Based directly on parents’ work experience while in shelter, we changed the law to allow working families to remain in shelter for six months after they exceed the income eligibility, thus encouraging and allowing them to work and save for permanent housing while in shelter. Before this change, parents were discouraged from working because of the threat of termination from shelter. We also prevented funding cuts to the shelter account.
  • Ensuring education and economic justice for homeless parents. We changed state
    law to allow education/training to count for the work requirement for all work-required
    parents receiving TAFDC; and to allow time spend on housing search for parents in
    shelter to count towards the welfare work requirement.


LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Just as important as our policy advocacy is our work to involve and develop the leadership of parents who have been homeless. We have:

  • Implemented a Leadership Development Institute and its Public Policy Series. Groups of parents who have experienced homelessness come together to learn about public policy and prepare for leadership in Homes for Families and in the larger community. To date, over 60 parents have participated in these intensive workshops, and have gone on to speak at press conferences and forums, have registered hundreds of families to vote, done outreach at shelters, and have participated in other opportunities to learn about public policy and to gain job experience.
  • Held over 45 legislative events in shelters to create a dialogue between elected officials, families who are homeless and shelter providers about homelessness and ways to improve public policy.
  • Ensured that homeless parents are full partners in our governance. Half of our board and staff have experienced homelessness. We have provided training and mentorship to parent board members so that they may be full participant on our board. In addition, we have established five non-voting board positions as a way to prepare parents for meaningful board involvement.
  • Implemented an Advocacy Liaison program, teaching provider staff the ins and outs of legislative advocacy, public speaking, and media relations, along with technical assistance
    to support our partners as they do the work. Staff then educate and mobilize their colleagues and families in shelter.