Father Bill’s & MainSpring’s Innovative Approach to Addressing Homelessness

Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) manages two year-round shelters for individual adults and more than 130 shelter units for families – and as you can imagine, we have seen firsthand the impact that COVID-19 is having on vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.

Located in Brockton, our MainSpring House property is a congregate emergency shelter for homeless individuals that, prior to the pandemic, served an average of nearly 140 adults each night. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded last spring, FBMS worked immediately to depopulate the shelter for safe social distancing by erecting temporary outdoor tents. But we knew that was not a viable long-term solution for our guests, many of whom are elderly, immunocompromised, or at high risk with other medical conditions.

The answer was the 69-room Rodeway Inn hotel in Brockton, which was sitting empty due to the pandemic. FBMS leased the entire hotel and moved more than 60 of our shelter guests into the hotel. The positive COVID-19 rate among FBMS’ Brockton guests plummeted from an initial high of 30 percent to less than 1 percent after they moved into the hotel.

What began as an emergency measure to save lives shifted to an innovative strategy that can serve as a national model for how we address homelessness: converting an existing property into permanent supportive housing. In December 2020, the CEDAC Board approved a $4.3 million acquisition loan to FBMS for the purchase of the Rodeway Inn. FBMS will renovate the property and add kitchenettes to all rooms, which already have their own private bathrooms, turning them into 69 enhanced single room occupancy (SRO) units. Additional site improvements include a common laundry room and electrical, mechanical, and life safety systems. We are grateful to CEDAC for their early support, which has helped make this important project possible.

FBMS’ new tenants will have access to case managers who will help them remain housed and become more self-sufficient. As an agency, FBMS already manages more than 550 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless individuals, families, and Veterans across Southern Massachusetts.

Transforming an existing property is typically more cost-effective than developing new housing. FBMS’ Rodeway Inn project has an estimated total development cost of $10.1 million, or $147,000 per unit, which is relatively low compared to other projects utilizing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

The Rodeway Inn project is an excellent example of a public-private partnership. In addition to CEDAC, FBMS has applied for funding commitments through the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s rolling Homeless SRO Housing Funding Round, and we will also utilize private donations to finance the renovations. Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan and Brockton’s state delegation have been very supportive of the plan.

There’s no question that the pandemic illuminated the fact that housing and health are intrinsically linked. It created an especially urgent life-or-death situation for people in emergency shelters, prompting governments and provider organizations to respond quickly and think outside the box.

The pandemic also led to broad community awareness over societal inequities and how health protocols such as social distancing, hygiene, and creating safer spaces could save lives. It also created a situation requiring innovation and change. In this case, COVID-19 halted travel, which led to a local hotel without guests and motivated the property owner to consider alternative uses or selling the facility.

Community-level innovations in response to COVID-19 are underway across the country. Similar conversions of hotels into efficiency apartments are being done in California, Oregon, and Washington State.

The first project of its kind in Massachusetts, FBMS’ Rodeway Inn conversion alone could reduce Brockton’s homeless population by half. It’s a game-changer. But the goal is to keep reducing the homeless population (and ultimately end homelessness altogether) — and that will require continued innovation, public-private collaboration, and long-term investments in new permanent housing and non-congregant emergency housing solutions. For example, in addition to dormant hotels, offices and commercial properties left empty by the pandemic may present additional opportunities to create SRO or family housing.

No one knows what the “new normal” will look like, but after having endured the pandemic for a year, communities now have a better understanding of our vulnerable populations and the resources necessary to address their housing needs.

Congratulations to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the new U.S. Secretary of Labor

Like so many around Boston and across Massachusetts, CEDAC was thrilled when Marty Walsh, Boston’s Mayor from 2014-2021, was selected by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to become the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and we congratulate him on his new role.  He brings an unquestioned commitment to helping working families and individuals to the role, which will benefit all of the American people, just as it has benefitted the residents of Boston over his two terms as Mayor.

From the beginning, then-Mayor Walsh made it clear that building more housing was a priority for the City of Boston, which has seen significant population growth over the last decade.  In particular, he focused on providing opportunities to produce and preserve affordable housing units throughout the City.  His attention and commitment meant that neighborhoods like Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury had much-needed access to resources and funding, which has led to more stable communities.

Some key housing highlights from Mayor Walsh’s term include:

  • More than 30,000 units of new housing had been completed or permitted in the City of Boston, according to a 2019 update from the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
  • Twenty percent of the new housing – or 6,000 units – are income-restricted to those earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
  • More than half of the permitted projects in total were outside of Downtown Boston in 2019 alone, and 81 percent of the permits pulled were in Boston’s neighborhoods.
  • In 2020, the City of Boston made $69.2 million in funding available to affordable housing developers throughout the City, the largest of such awards during his administration.

CEDAC has enjoyed the opportunity to work closely with the Walsh administration on key initiatives that have helped to meet the affordable housing demand in Boston. In particular, we have partnered with Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) to help preserve the long-term affordability of existing subsidized multifamily housing across the City’s neighborhoods.  This partnership has led to the preservation of 1,644 units of at-risk housing since 2014. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples of this relationship is the successful effort in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and MassHousing to keep Newcastle/Saranac Apartments, a 97-unit building in Lower Roxbury, affordable.

Additionally, in 2017, we began working with the City of Boston and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC Boston) to design and launch the Vacant Site Acquisition Fund.  The fund provides project financing for non-profit affordable housing developers looking to acquire vacant and underutilized land and buildings to produce more affordable housing in the city. Boston made an initial commitment of $2.5 million to the $8 million pilot fund, which to date has helped non-profit developers purchase four of these sites.

Over the last eight years, the staff at CEDAC have had the privilege on multiple occasions of joining Mayor Marty Walsh at groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies throughout Boston. From the Newcastle/Saranac preservation, to the new construction of senior housing by 2Life Communities in Brighton, and Brookview House in Dorchester – which co-locates affordable housing and quality early education space for families who have experienced homelessness, multiple phases of new housing in Jackson Square also – Mayor Walsh was on hand to celebrate affordable housing successes in all of Boston’s neighborhoods.  It’s clear that incoming Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh understands the important relationship between high-quality housing and strong communities, and we are looking forward to seeing what he does next for our country.

Commonwealth Announces Funding Awards for Twelve Affordable Housing Projects in Mini-Round

On March 2nd, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy joined Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development (and CEDAC Board Chair) Jennifer Maddox and community development sector leaders to celebrate the 12 projects that received a combined total of $46 million in capital subsidies as well as $125 million in equity from the sale of federal and state tax credits to develop 572 new units of housing in the Commonwealth’s most recent competitive funding round. The vast majority of the units – 507 – will be affordable to low- and moderate-income families, with more than 20 percent of the affordable units set aside for extremely low-income residents, with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median income. For a family of four living in Boston, that’s $38,350 annually. You can watch that event on YouTube.

CEDAC has committed significant early stage financing to more than half of the projects receiving resources. We congratulate our partner organizations and others on the awards of state funds to move these much-needed projects forward.

“Affordable housing has been a priority for our administration since day one, and the impact of the pandemic has made the need for additional investment even more clear,” said Governor Charlie Baker in a press release. “We are proud to have invested more than $1.4 billion since 2015 in our affordable housing ecosystem, and are thankful to the Legislature for passing our Housing Choice legislation to promote the production and preservation of additional units across the Commonwealth.”

As we note above, CEDAC has provided either predevelopment or acquisition loans – and in one case, both – to seven of these projects. Why is this so encouraging? Because, at a time when community development corporations and other affordable housing developers have faced tremendous pressures to maintain the health and well-being of the people living in their communities, we are inspired to help them achieve this significant milestone and advance their projects forward.

The seven CEDAC-supported projects funded in this mini-round include:

  • Morton Station Village, Mattapan – Caribbean Integration Community Development in conjunction with the Planning Office of Urban Affairs will build 31 new units of transit-oriented housing. 27 of the units will be affordable. CEDAC provided $625,000 in predevelopment financing for this project.
  • Dudley Crossing 1, Roxbury – Nuestra Communidad will construct or rehab 47 units of affordable housing in the Nubian Square neighborhood of Roxbury. CEDAC has provided $495,000 in predevelopment funds in support of the project.
  • 1599 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury – Urban Edge will develop 65 new units of affordable housing in the Jackson Square neighborhood of Roxbury, Urban Edge acquired the two land parcels that make up the site with two CEDAC acquisition loans totaling $2,080,000. This financing was made possible through the Home Funders program as well as the City of Boston’s Vacant Site Acquisition Fund.
  • 9 Leyland, Dorchester – Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation will build 43 new units of supportive housing for older adults. All of the units will be affordable. CEDAC supported this project by committing $645,000 in acquisition financing from the Vacant Site Acquisition Fund, as well as an additional $579,750 in a predevelopment loan.
  • 910 Main Street, Great Barrington – Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire in partnership with WayFinders will build 49 new units of affordable housing, CEDAC has supported the project with $200,000 in predevelopment funding.
  • The Lighthouses, Salem – North Shore Community Development Coalition is constructing 46 units of affordable housing across two sites in Salem. CEDAC has provided $275,000 in predevelopment financing for this project.
  • The Union Block, Taunton – Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) will rehabilitate an historic building in Taunton’s central business district by turning it into 38 units of housing, 34 of which will be affordable. CEDAC has committed $500,000 in predevelopment funding for this project.

In total, CEDAC has committed $5.4 million – $2.7 million in predevelopment and $2.7 million in acquisition financing – for these 7 projects.  Additionally, eight of the twelve developments have received funding awards from at least one of the three supportive housing bond programs – the Housing Innovations Fund (HIF), the Facilities Consolidation Fund (FCF), and the Community Based Housing (CBH) program – that CEDAC manages on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). We look forward to moving these projects to construction closing – and to the time when we can celebrate in person with community leaders and development teams!

Massachusetts Funded Nearly 500 Units of Supportive Housing in FY20

Housing for Older Adults, Homeless Individuals Secured State Funding Awards in Last Fiscal Year

CEDAC recently calculated how many supportive housing – service-enriched housing – units were funded in Fiscal Year 2020. According to our data, DHCD awarded capital funding and other resources to developers that will lead to the construction of 476 new units throughout the Commonwealth.  Nearly half of those units (45 percent) will be located in age-restricted developments. Nineteen percent will provide housing and services for homeless individuals and families.  And almost a third of the units will serve some of the state’s most vulnerable populations: individuals with physical and developmental disabilities.  All in all, the data shows that supportive housing developers, many of whom are the non-profit organizations CEDAC supports, are utilizing the many resources – including loan programs, tax credits, grants, and more – available to them to build housing and provide services that assist at-risk individuals and families.

Since 2013, when the Commonwealth began to report annually the number of supportive housing units funded, Massachusetts has produced more than 4,200 units of supportive housing.  CEDAC works closely with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), which funds supportive housing via multiple affordable housing funding competitions, including the Supportive Housing for Vulnerable Populations round. In this Supportive Housing round, DHCD distributes capital funds as well as special project-based operating subsidies accompanied by stipends to pay for supportive services.  Along with the housing, residents can access supportive services, which may include mental health services, job training, case management, recovery support, and more.  You can read about last year’s awards here.

Some of the supportive housing projects that received funding in FY20 include innovative developments in communities as varied as Everett, Worcester, and the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

In Everett, The Neighborhood Developers (TND) is building a new five-story, 77-unit age-restricted affordable property on the grounds of the former St. Therese Parish.  The development, which will include 70 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom units, will provide service-enriched housing to adults over the age of 62.  East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) will lease the ground floor of the property and will offer primary care, as well as supportive services via EBNHC’ s Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). CEDAC has closed on loans of more than $3.7 million through Housing Innovations Fund (HIF), Community Based Housing (CBH), and Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund (HPSTF); all three state programs target supportive housing development.  (To read a recent feature about this project in The Boston Globe, please click here).

Building Futures, Inc., a non-profit affiliated with the Worcester Housing Authority, is developing A Place to Live in conjunction with the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA).  The 25-unit, 100 percent affordable modular building in Worcester’s Main South neighborhood will provide supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals.  The project’s “housing first” model will include intensive supportive services available to all residents. DHCD has committed more than $1.3 million in HIF for this innovative development, and CEDAC has committed a $100,000 predevelopment loan for early-stage project expenses.

The Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID) broke ground last month on 41 new affordable multifamily rental housing in the Bowdoin-Geneva section of Dorchester. Twelve of the units will be set aside for extremely low-income households with five reserved for formerly homeless families.  Families who have experienced homelessness will have access to intensive stabilization services, with ongoing resident service coordination available to all residents. VietAID will lease the ground floor of the building to the new Dorchester Food Co-op, a welcome addition to a neighborhood with limited access to grocery stores. CEDAC has closed on $985,000 in HIF financing for this project, and previously provided VietAID with nearly $1.6 million in acquisition and predevelopment financing.

The last 12 months have demonstrated more than ever why we need safe, quality affordable housing for at-risk populations like seniors and those without secure housing. FY21 promises to be another robust year for supportive housing production, and CEDAC looks forward to working with DHCD and our non-profit partners to develop quality supportive housing across the Commonwealth.

A Decade of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Preservation Law, Chapter 40T

A Decade of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Preservation Law, Chapter 40T

In November, CEDAC released a new analysis of Massachusetts’ successful affordable housing preservation law, Chapter 40T, which was passed and signed into law in 2009.  “Chapter 40T at 10,” available on our website, was authored by CEDAC’s Director of Housing Preservation and Policy Bill Brauner and looks at the outcomes and factors in the landmark law that has been instrumental in the preservation of almost 20,000 affordable housing units in Massachusetts, while only losing 204 to market conversion in projects that were sold. In total, 99 percent of the units sold during this period have preserved affordability, a remarkable achievement.

CEDAC convened a webinar in December to celebrate 40T’s first decade of success. We were pleased to be joined by State Representative Kevin Honan, the long-time Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, who helped shepherd Chapter 40T through the legislative process in 2008-2009, and Priya Jayachandran, Chief Executive Officer of the National Housing Trust, who offered keynote remarks.  Both individuals offered insights into why Chapter 40T has been so important on the state and national levels:

“40T again has preserved thousands of units in Massachusetts. It encourages tenants, property owners, CDCs, preservation developers, city and state officials to work together to find equitable solutions,” said Chairman Honan. “40T has been a success. 40T is one of the most valuable tools we have here in Massachusetts to preserve our housing stock, along with bond authorizations and tax credits.”

“Congratulations to CEDAC and the entire Massachusetts affordable housing community for the celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Chapter 40T. I lead National Housing Trust, and we frequently celebrate and point to Chapter 40T as a model law for housing preservation,” said Jayachandran. “We do regular work with state Housing Finance Agencies around the country and often share 40T as an example of what other states and localities can aspire to.”

Thank you to the following panelists for their participation in this forum:

  • Roberta L. Rubin, Chief Counsel, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
  • Rachel Heller, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
  • Suneeth P. John, Director of Real Estate, Fenway Community Development Corporation

You can read a summary of the webinar at this State House News Service article.  Additionally, Bill Brauner appeared on the OA on Air podcast to discuss 10 years of Chapter 40T and the webinar, and speaks about what a successful Chapter 40T-preserved project looks like.

DHCD Helps Affordable Housing Production and Preservation Across Massachusetts to Move Forward Despite Public Health Crisis

In October, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the 2020 Affordable Rental Housing Awards. The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will provide more than $105.7 million in direct funding and $53 million in state and federal tax credits for the production or preservation of more than 2,400 housing units, including 2,166 affordable rental units to 28 projects in 19 communities across the Commonwealth. These housing developments will serve our most vulnerable residents, including those who have experienced the greatest risk to their health, safety, and livelihoods as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis. We congratulate our partners at DHCD for their seamless work to maintain the production of affordable housing during the pandemic.

Public health experts have long identified housing as a key social determinant of health. The COVID-19 pandemic has further demonstrated this relationship, as we’ve seen very low case rates in affordable housing developments located in heavily impacted communities such as Revere and Chelsea. Stable, affordable housing, such as The Neighborhood Developers’ 181 Chestnut project, prevents the crowded conditions that contribute to the spread of infectious disease. In addition, the supportive services and other resources provided by non-profit housing developers help vulnerable residents stabilize in their housing and prevent evictions. Newly funded projects such as Pine Street Inn/The Community Builders’ 3368 Washington Street will help to ensure that residents with a history of chronic homelessness receive case management and other supports to remain safely housed. CEDAC has committed acquisition and/or predevelopment financing to both of these important projects, as well as nine others listed below.

  • Anchor Point I is the first phase of a two-phase new construction project by Harborlight Community Partners in Beverly. Anchor Point I will offer 38 affordable units to households earning less than 60 percent of Annual Median Income (AMI), with ten units restricted for extremely low-income households earning less than 30 percent of AMI. CEDAC made available $3 million in acquisition funding and $1.1 million in predevelopment financing for the project.
  • 250 Centre Street, a new construction project in Boston’s Jackson Square neighborhood, is sponsored by The Community Builders (TCB). 250 Centre Street is a 110-unit, mixed-income development, with 56 units affordable to those earning less than 60 percent of AMI. Fifteen units will be dedicated to extremely low-income households, including eleven who are transitioning out of homelessness. CEDAC provided $2 million in acquisition and $250,000 in predevelopment financing to TCB for the project.
  • 3368 Washington Street is a new mixed-income development, also in Jamaica Plain, sponsored by Pine Street Inn, Inc. and The Community Builders. The project will bring 202 new units to the neighborhood, with 156 permanent supportive housing units targeted to chronically homeless individuals earning less than 30 percent of AMI. CEDAC has provided a $550,000 predevelopment loan for the project.
  • Four Corners Plaza is a new construction project by Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. The development will produce 35 affordable units, eight of which will be restricted to extremely low-income individuals or families earning less than 30 percent of AMI and transitioning out of homelessness. CEDAC provided $1.1 million in predevelopment financing for the project.
  • Walando Homes is an affordable housing preservation project in both and Mattapan, also sponsored by Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. Fifty-nine units on Orlando and Waldeck Streets will be rehabilitated and operated as affordable housing.  15 units will be reserved for extremely low-income households. CEDAC provided $1.6 million in acquisition and $1.2 million in predevelopment funding for the project.
  • 181 Chestnut in Chelsea will convert existing market-rate housing into a mixed-income development, with 22 units becoming affordable and eight of the 22 reserved for extremely low-income families or individuals. Ten units will remain available as market rate. CEDAC and its lending partner, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), committed $8.5 million in acquisition financing to this transit-oriented development to The Neighborhood Developers (TND), as well as more than $200,000 in a predevelopment loan.
  • Holbrook Center Senior Housing will construct 72 new age-restricted units near Holbrook’s town center. This NeighborWorks Housing Solutions project will provide 70 units of supportive housing, with 18 of those units reserved for extremely low-income residents. CEDAC has made available $800,000 in predevelopment financing for this supportive housing project.
  • Island Parkside Phase 1 in Lawrence is a new construction project sponsored by Lawrence Community Works. Forty new affordable units will include 16 units reserved for extremely low-income households earning less than 30 percent of AMI. CEDAC provided more than $3 million and more than $218,000 in acquisition and predevelopment loans, respectively.
  • Elias Brookings School Apartments in Springfield is an adaptive re-use of the former Brookings School, which will result in 42 new units of affordable housing for families, 14 of which will be restricted to extremely low-income families. CEDAC provided the project’s sponsor, Home City Development, with $215,000 in acquisition and $935,000 in predevelopment funding.
  • Sunderland Senior Housing is a new construction project in the Western Massachusetts community of Sunderland. Rural Development, Inc. and Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC) will develop 33 age-restricted units, all of which will be affordable, with 12 units restricted for extremely low-income households. CEDAC made $875,000 in predevelopment financing available for the project.
  • Grand Street Commons, a new construction project in Worcester sponsored by Main South Community Development Corporation, will create 48 new rental units, 46 of which will be affordable. Ten of those 46 units will be set aside for extremely low-income individuals or families earning less than 30 percent of AMI. CEDAC committed $900,000 in acquisition and $974,000 in predevelopment funding for the project.

In total, CEDAC has contributed $8.3 million in predevelopment funding and $19.3 million in acquisition financing for these eleven projects located across the state from Boston to Springfield.  We offer congratulations to our non-profit community development partners, for whom we serve as a financial and technical resource, especially during these challenging times. Access to stable housing is a key strategy to helping families secure a stronger economic future for themselves – and a critical element in the public health emergency we face. We are proud to be DHCD’s partner in advancing the production and preservation of these affordable housing projects. You can read more about the 2020 Affordable Rental Housing Awards on DHCD’s website.

Pictured above: a rendering of Pine Street Inn/The Community Builders’ 3368 Washington Street project in Jamaica Plain, which received funding from DHCD’s 2020 Affordable Rental Housing Awards. The new development will help to ensure that residents with a history of chronic homelessness receive case management and other supports to remain safely housed. Rendering credit: RODE Architects

PPP Technical Assistance Initiative – An Update

This spring, as Massachusetts mandated all child care programs and schools to close, the already-fragile child care sector was pushed further into crisis. A powerful video compilation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation features testimonies from child care providers across the nation who share what this has meant for them as they continue to serve children during the pandemic.

In April, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) asked the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF) to create a technical assistance (TA) initiative to increase early childhood education and out-of-school time (ECE/OST) access to federal small business loans, specifically the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), in order to help businesses stay afloat. Children’s Investment Fund assembled a team to provide one-on-one technical support to the child care field, consisting of several partners:

From April to August, the team provided emergency technical assistance to 278 child care providers in Massachusetts. More than 70% of the programs were women-led businesses and 68% of them were family child care businesses, which the National Association for the Education of Young Children reported to be less likely to gain access to PPP loans than center-based programs. 116 providers (42%) received technical assistance in Spanish or Portuguese. CIF collaborated with Accion East, which was able to process several PPP loans for family child care providers that often could not easily apply through a more traditional bank. CIF also partnered with EEC and the technical assistance team to host four webinars and continuously updated FAQs for the field to reflect the latest guidance. One-fifth of the 278 providers had already applied for PPP when they contacted CIF and had questions about how to use the loan.

Although this TA work is currently coming to a close, CliftonLarsonAllen will provide accounting services to a number of providers that have requested assistance with the PPP’s loan forgiveness process. In October, the Small Business Administration released a streamlined loan forgiveness application for those borrowers with loans under $50,000, which will help reduce the administrative burden for many child care providers as well as for their lenders, but all providers must calculate their forgiveness in order to certify that the funds were spent on eligible purposes.

In July, the DC-based organization Bipartisan Policy Center analyzed PPP funding to the child care sector across states, finding that Massachusetts brought in the sixth-highest total of PPP funding for child care in the nation—1,153 loans to child care entities, for a cumulative estimated total  of up to $166 million. The majority of the loans (967 loans) were under $150,000, with an average amount of $40,784. In May, the Fund surveyed providers that had received its PPP technical assistance. Providers expressed their appreciation for the technical assistance effort, including a center in Metro Boston that said, “I think this partnership and support has been outstanding and critical at a time when we needed it the most. I hope it can continue in some way, especially knowing that most of us cannot afford to pay for such services but our programs would greatly benefit from the expertise!”

Children’s Investment Fund was pleased to be able to mobilize technical assistance for the ECE/OST field and continues to seeks ways to support providers as they continue to navigate this new era. Many thanks to the partners that dedicated countless hours to this effort—in particular technical assistance partners CliftonLarsonAllen, Clarendon Early Education Services, and Goodwin Procter and the EEC for allocating funds for these important TA services.

CIF, CEDAC, and EEC Announce $6.5 Million in Awards from the FY20 Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund

This week, Children’s Investment Fund, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) announced that seven non-profit providers of early childhood education and out-of-school time organizations received $6.5 million from the Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20).  The EEOST Capital Fund – which is financed through the Baker-Polito Administration’s Capital Budget and managed by the Children’s Investment Fund, CEDAC, and EEC – helps non-profit center-based organizations that serve primarily low-income families and communities to renovate or build new, high-quality child care facilities.

“The current public health crisis underscores the need for safe learning environments that support the healthy growth and development of all children,” said Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. “We are thrilled to be able to support these seven programs across the Commonwealth as they turn their projects into reality.”

Since 2014, the EEOST Capital Fund has made annual awards of $4 million, but last year, an additional $2.5 million was made available for grants. The $6.5 million allocated for the FY20 EEOST grants will leverage more than $36 million in additional public and private financing to improve learning environments for 877 children. Over 80% of the children currently served in these programs are from low-income families. Learn more in the press release here.

We are grateful for the Baker-Polito Administration’s continued investment in early education and care programs, and we look forward to working with each organization that received FY20 EEOST awards to help move their facility projects to completion. Congratulations to the following early learning organizations:

  • Berkshire Family YMCA
  • Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield
  • Community Action Incorporated
  • East Boston Social Centers
  • Guild of St Agnes
  • Old Colony YMCA
  • South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC)

Click below to watch video greetings from three of the awardees: Berkshire Family YMCA, Community Action Incorporated, and East Boston Social Centers.

Children’s Investment Fund and Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Announce Modification to the EEOST Capital Fund

This week the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF), an affiliate of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) announced changes to the funding available through the Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund.

The three organizations announced that in FY21, the EEOST Capital Fund special round will award grants between $100,000 and $250,000 to early childhood education and out-of-school time programs to fund expenses for capital improvements related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The funding is intended to provide early education centers with the resources they need to make improvements and emergency repairs that address health and safety issues.  You can read more about those changes here.

We know that child care providers are facing tremendous strain because of the COVID pandemic. Many are modifying their spaces to continue to provide early education services to families safely. Being able to have the flexibility to use the resources available through the EEOST Capital Fund to meet their needs and strengthen the Commonwealth’s childcare infrastructure is important, as many families rely on child care to return to work.

The EEOST Capital Fund provides capital grants to non-profit childcare centers seeking to renovate or develop new high-quality learning space for children living in low-income communities and is managed by EEC and CIF, along with CEDAC. It was established in 2013 to offer capital financing to non-profit community-based childcare providers serving low-income families that are looking to improve the quality of their facilities. For more information on the Fund, you can visit CIF’s website here or the Commonwealth’s website here.

Most importantly, if you are a child care provider who might qualify for this new, flexible funding in FY21, please visit https://cedac.org/cif/financing/eeost-capital-fund to learn more about the eligibility requirements.

Creating Accessible, Affordable Housing Through the State-Funded CBH Program

In July of this year, we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first comprehensive civil rights law for people living with disabilities.

Thanks to the ADA, we’ve come to rely on a wide variety of design and technology innovations that open our public spaces and our housing to residents with mobility, sensory and other impairments – and which also benefit many of us who do not live with disabilities. Entrance ramps, curb cuts, elevators, wider door openings, reserved parking spaces, and other design elements all promote access and independence, and federal and state laws require their inclusion in new and substantially renovated buildings.

While the ADA allowed many Americans to open doors previously closed to them, the US Supreme Court magnified ADA’s impact with its 1999 Olmstead decision. Under a majority opinion authored by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Olmstead held states accountable to provide services in community-based settings for people with disabilities who were often forced to live in institutions due to the lack of appropriate housing and services.

In Massachusetts, disability advocates found that despite the progress made under ADA, there remained a shortage of accessible, affordable housing, making it impossible to meet the requirements of Olmstead. Further, many households living with disabilities required additional design enhancements in their homes in order to live independently. Those advocates successfully argued to the Massachusetts legislature to approve a dedicated capital program to provide affordable housing units, integrated within typical affordable housing developments, and with a high level of accessibility. In 2004, the state’s Housing Bond Bill included the brand-new Community Based Housing (CBH) program, a $25 million fund dedicated to supporting the acquisition and construction of these units.

Since that time, CEDAC has managed the CBH program, on behalf of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and in partnership with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC). Together we’ve committed $74 million to 148 projects, for a total of 473 CBH units in every region of the Commonwealth. And we’ve learned from the community of developers, architects, residents and property managers how to make the program work in urban, rural and suburban settings; new construction and renovation projects; and both multifamily and age-restricted housing. To hear about the impact of CBH on the life of one resident, click here and scroll to Michelle’s story.

This month, CEDAC proudly released our updated design guidelines for the Community Based Housing (CBH) program, developed with our partner agencies and Davis Square Architects. These new guidelines clarify and streamline the requirements to design and build CBH units, and also assist developers to plan early in their design process to include CBH units. You can find these guidelines here, and we encourage you to sign up for our free training on November 12th here. We hope to see you there.

Finally, we’d like to welcome a new partner to the CBH program. Jennifer Howell has recently assumed the new role of Disability Housing Manager at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). Jennifer comes to EOHHS from the Northeast Independent Living Program, where she served as the Director of Community Supports. Jennifer will work with CEDAC, DHCD and the many developers who include CBH units in their projects, to provide front-end project certifications and assist with marketing. We wish our longtime colleague Maggie Dionne well as she continues to train Jennifer and prepares to return to retirement.