Tag: community development

More than just a roof over their heads

IBA’s supported-living house gets a makeover

IBA’s Residencia Betances, one of only a few housing facilities in Boston offering supportive services to formerly homeless, Spanish speaking residents, received a makeover recently, and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) CEO Vanessa Calderón-Rosado celebrated the completed renovation on Thursday, October 27 with city and state housing and social service officials. Opened in 1993, Residencia Betances provides 11 single-occupancy units for formerly homeless residents who are clients of the Department of Mental Health, with round-the-clock, bilingual staff on site to assist residents with medication and health-care appointments, social skills symptom management and meal preparation, and to provide social, employment skills and wellness opportunities. “Residencia Betances is such a meaningful part of Boston’s South End, and we are proud to have completed renovations that will enhance the lives of our residents,” said Vanessa Calderón-Rosado. “We are grateful to those that have helped make this project happen, and look forward to continuing with more work aimed at providing affordable housing for those in need.” The renovation, which received funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Housing Preservation Stabilization and Facilities Consolidation program and from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), will provide a more open and client-friendly common area; historic restoration of the brick townhouse’s exterior and upgrades in the residents’ units.

State representative Aaron Michlewitz, undersecretary of Housing and Community Development Chrystal Kornegay, Laila Bernstein, advisor to the Mayor for the Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness and Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) director of housing development Sara Barcan joined Vanessa Calderón-Rosado for a ribbon cutting, remarks and a luncheon at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. In her remarks, Bernstein noted the Mayor’s commitment to ending homelessness and particularly to helping the long-term homeless. She said, “In January 2016, there were 612 chronically homeless individuals and since then we have housed 186 of those individuals. That represents 1,015 years of homelessness because these were the individuals who have been homeless the longest. The proven formula for ending chronic homelessness is permanent, supportive housing.” Similarly, Undersecretary Kornegay said, “This is a really important project and a really important constituency for the governor. As many of you know, when the administration took office, we had 1,500 homeless families in hotels and motels and yesterday, we were down to 230. It’s because of projects like this and investment in them that we are able to keep moving families through difficult and trying times in their lives.”

The project was financed Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and the funds for this project come from DHCD’s funds, and in part by CEDAC. Calderón-Rosado pointed out, “This project was completed on time and within budget and we are very proud of that accomplishment.” She noted that the renovation of the property was conducted without relocation and with the residents in place, making the adherence to budget and timeline all the more noteworthy.

http://www.mysouthend.com/news/news/206198/more_than_just_a_roof_over_their_heads

SourceSouth End News

Rebuilding a Home for those Who Need it Most

In our constant efforts to improve the lives of our community, we unveiled the new & improved Residencia Betances with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the property last Wednesday. The ceremony marked more than just the completion of renovations to the building, it celebrated the improvements that will help us provide even better care to our 11 residents, who were previously homeless and suffer from mental disabilities. Many community members attended the ribbon cutting and had nothing but praise for all those involved in making this project possible – a project that gives not just a house, but a home to these previously displaced individuals.

We are so grateful to all of our partners who made this possible – especially to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) for providing us with the funding to perform project renovations to both the interior and exterior of the property.

“Residencia Betances is such a meaningful part of Boston’s South End, and we are proud to have completed renovations that will enhance the lives of our residents,” said our CEO Vanessa Calderón-Rosado. She also remarked the impressive completion of the project “on time and within budget with our residents in place the entire time.”

img_0921

Our CEO, Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, introduced guest speakers and thanked all of our partners in this project.

Started in 1993, Residencia Betances is an 11 room, single-occupancy development located on Shawmut Ave in the South End, serving Spanish-speaking residents who are formerly homeless clients of the Department of Mental Health. Our bilingual and bicultural staff works around the clock with the residents to ensure they have access to a range of supportive services that enable them to live successfully and optimize their overall health. These services include symptom management, community skill development, support with medication administration, healthcare appointments, and meal preparation; as well as encourage all residents to partake in social, employment and wellness activities.

The ceremony was led by our CEO Vanessa, and brought together city and state officials including State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development Chrystal Kornegay, Advisor to the Mayor for the Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness Laila Bernstein, and CEDAC Director of Housing Development Sara Barcan. There were also IBA supporters and community members in attendance, including the residents of the building who were excited to cut the ribbon marking the official completion of renovations to their home.

State Representative, Aaron Michlewitz, spoke during the ceremony.

State Representative, Aaron Michlewitz, spoke during the ceremony.

“We gladly celebrate the completion of such an important property in the South End, carried out by an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of others” said Undersecretary Kornegay. “Our involvement with IBA on this project dates back nearly 20 years, and we are thrilled that we were able to reinvest in housing unlike any other in the area.”

Improvements were made to the residents individual units as well as to the common areas to create a more open and welcoming floor plan for the residents to interact. There were also exterior enhancements made to the historical brownstone so many in attendance not only applauded this major milestone, but joked, “It looks like the rest of the South End!”

Barcan praised the project, “Our hats are off to IBA for having nourished and sustained this project for almost a quarter of a century – it’s really very impressive.” She continued, “it didn’t take anything away from the stability of the housing and the quality of services being provided [to the residents]. So, we really congratulate them on making this building a national example of what you can do with permanent supportive housing.”

CEDAC’s Director of Housing Development, Sara Barcan, addressed the crowd.

CEDAC’s Director of Housing Development, Sara Barcan, addressed the crowd.

Bernstein spoke on behalf of Mayor Marty Walsh, saying, “The way to end chronic homelessness – long term homelessness – for people with disabilities is through projects like this one…We’re very grateful for IBA’s leadership in developing this project and many others that are part of the solution to stabilize housing for people who are housing insecure and also ending homelessness.”

Vanessa closed the ceremony saying, “We are grateful to those that have helped make this project happen, and look forward to continuing with more work aimed at providing affordable housing for those in need.”

This property offers affordable housing to those that need it most, and provides unparalleled services to enhance the quality of life for our residents and we could not be more ecstatic about it’s completion. To ensure that we can continue projects like this one, please donate here. Remember, any amount helps to make a difference.

http://www.ibaboston.org/blog/rebuilding-a-home-for-those-who-need-it-most/

 

SourceInquilinos Boricuas En Accion

Aspire Developmental Services Relocates Lynn Headquarters with MassDevelopment Bond

MassDevelopment has issued a $2,420,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of Aspire Developmental Services, Inc., an organization in Lynn and Salem that provides programs for children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. Aspire is using bond proceeds to renovate, furnish, equip and insure the 15,912-square-foot former O’Keefe School building at 176 Franklin Street as its Lynn headquarters. The new building will allow Aspire to expand its day care, early intervention and other services. East Boston Savings Bank purchased the bond.

“Aspire Developmental Services’ focus on early intervention ensures a bright future for the children and families it serves on the North Shore,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “We are pleased to help this organization expand its services and update its Lynn headquarters with this low-cost financing.”

Founded in 1951 as the Cerebral Palsy Council of the North Shore, Aspire Developmental Services, Inc. is a private, nonprofit healthcare and educational agency that provides programs for children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities and their families. The agency was organized by parents and professionals interested in providing services for persons with cerebral palsy. In 2015, the organization became Aspire Developmental Services, Inc. Aspire provided services to 1,856 children in 10 communities in 2015 through Early Intervention, the Early Intervention Partnership Program and its Aspire Early Education Center, which is open to typically developing children and those with mild developmental delays.

“We are very excited to begin this project, which will allow for the continued growth of Aspire Developmental Services,” said Lori Russell, Acting Executive Director at Aspire. “The project, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2017, will enable us to serve more at-risk families on the North Shore.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2016, MassDevelopment financed or managed 352 projects generating investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 8,200 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 4,200 residential units.

http://www.massdevelopment.com/news/aspire-developmental-services-relocates-lynn-headquarters-with-massdevelopm/

SourceMassDevelopment

IBA Completes Upgrades To South End Property

Housing nonprofit Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) has completed renovations of Residencia Betances, an 11-room single-occupancy building on Shawmut Avenue in Boston’s South End that serves low-income individuals with mental health needs.

IBA recently completed exterior and interior upgrades to the brownstone structures, including creation of open floor plans in common areas and improvements to individual units.

The property was originally developed by IBA in 1993, one of the area’s few properties that provide around-the-clock supportive housing to Spanish-speaking residents who are formerly homeless clients of the Department of Mental Health.

The project was financed by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and in part by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp.

IBA was founded in 1968 by a group of Puerto Rican activists to fight displacement in the South End.

http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2016/10/iba-completes-upgrades-south-end-property/?utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=36662767&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–Lx_l_rjJoBQ0OiXiZYzK_8ISnrE6n9AfFTcnOeFV48SqBhYJ_qXfpyJp0ofIOpuHG7Gn1rc7-7tO3bzHKgFPfwpfUjA&_hsmi=36662767

SourceBanker & Tradesman

CEDAC Receives Funding From Kuehn Charitable Foundation for New Grant Program

For more information and to apply for a Kuehn Planning Grant, please visit our Application Forms & Guidelines page under Housing Programs.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) was recently awarded $180,000 of funding by the Kuehn Charitable Foundation to establish a new planning grant program to help the non-profit community development sector across Massachusetts. Named for the foundation’s creator Robert H. Kuehn, Jr., the Kuehn Planning Grants will help non-profit corporations in Massachusetts explore the feasibility at the earliest stages of project development. The Kuehn Charitable Foundation was created by the late Robert H. Kuehn, Jr. in the late 1990s and is dedicated to preserving communities around Massachusetts. By supporting affordable housing and historic and open space preservation, the Foundation carries on the legacy of its founder who spent his life developing affordable and historic housing. The primary activity of the foundation is the Kuehn Fellows Program, which provides hands-on experience to its fellows by placing them in positions with vetted nonprofit affordable housing organizations around the Commonwealth. “There are non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth who want to improve their communities by building new affordable housing or economic development space, but are unaware of both the challenges and the funding available to do so,” said Jennifer Gilbert, Director of Kuehn Charitable Foundation. “These grants will help those agencies determine what is feasible. We are partnering with CEDAC because their expertise in this area will allow these organizations to take the steps in turning their vision into a reality.” For more than 35 years, CEDAC has provided early stage capital to non-profit, community-based organizations engaged in effective community development. The Kuehn Planning Grants of up to $15,000 each will be awarded to organizations for costs associated with affordable housing or economic development projects. There will be a preference for projects undertaken by small, community-based organizations, as well as mixed-use and/or mixed-income projects incorporating historic preservation, projects serving low- and moderate-income artists, supportive housing for vulnerable families and individuals, and smaller scale projects. “Throughout our history, CEDAC has provided early-stage financing to community development corporations and other community-based non-profit organizations to help them develop affordable housing and child care facilities,” said CEDAC’s Executive Director Roger Herzog. “But we know that there many more organizations who want to improve their communities by producing or preserving affordable units or commercial space. The Kuehn Planning Grants will allow smaller non-profits to explore opportunities that they might feel are too financially risky otherwise. We’re looking forward to working with these organizations through these grants.” More information on the Kuehn Planning Grants can be found at CEDAC’s Website at www.cedac.org.

SourceCEDAC

Ceaseless Commitment From All Corners Of The Commonwealth

State’s Dedication To Supportive Housing Creation Has Paid Off – But There’s More Work To Do

Massachusetts has done something remarkable – it has produced more than 1,750 new units of supportive housing in just three years. By doing so, it has helped to stabilize the lives of thousands of formerly homeless families and individuals. And by helping these families become more self-sufficient, neighborhoods and communities across the state have been strengthened.

Why is this so remarkable? Because even though Massachusetts has an affordable housing finance system that can be considered the nation’s gold standard, the commonwealth’s nonprofit affordable housing providers still face considerable challenges in producing new units of housing for extremely low-income residents. Supportive housing, in which organizations offer support services and affordable housing, can be even more complex for agencies to create. So it is encouraging to see that the commonwealth not only met but exceeded its goal in developing new units.

How did Massachusetts do it? For one, the state brought all of the major players together to work collaboratively towards a goal. For the past several years, 20 state agencies, from those focused on housing to those providing human services, have worked together in a collaborative effort to improve the way we fund and produce supportive housing. This interagency initiative, chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash, meant improved communication and coordination, more sharing of information, and a better understanding of best practices.

For another, the commonwealth also experimented with ways of streamlining an often complicated funding process. Nonprofit organizations require different sources of financing to turn the idea of a project into a reality – they need capital dollars to acquire or build affordable housing, operational funding to maintain units and service funding for tenant stabilization and other supports. Piecing together that kind of financing can be a challenge, especially for smaller nonprofits.

But a successful pilot program that allowed affordable housing developers to access these funding streams in a consolidated process proved to be an effective way of developing supportive housing units. CEDAC, which provides early stage capital to nonprofit affordable housing developers, played a role in both efforts. We helped lead the interagency initiative and worked closely with the Department of Housing and Community Development on the pilot program.

An example of the pilot program’s success can be found in the partnership between Lowell’s Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) and the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center (VNOC), which teamed up to build 27 units of supportive housing near downtown Haverhill. One of the first projects to benefit from the combined funding process, the Welcome Home Vets project now serves 27 veterans households.

 

More To Be Done

There is additional good news – the governor’s capital budget includes $1.1 billion for affordable housing production and preservation over the next five years, an 8 percent increase in FY17 and 18 percent increase over the life of the plan, and includes an enhancement of resources for supportive housing. And we will see additional funds from the federal government for production of these units. In April, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the launch of the National Housing Trust Fund to help states create new housing for extremely low-income individuals. While the fund is modest in its first year – $174 million to be shared among all 50 states – it will still help Massachusetts in its quest to help homeless families and individuals find housing. And it could grow. The initial allocation for Massachusetts from the fund is $3.4 million.

The proof of all of the commonwealth’s efforts to address homelessness is in the numbers – after many years of hard work by providers and policy makers, the numbers of homeless families living in motels has sharply declined. Producing supportive housing units is one of the ways that the commonwealth has pursued to move homeless families out of emergency shelter.

Massachusetts has shown it is possible to address the challenge of homelessness but there is, of course, more work to be done. We remain a state with a high cost of living and one where income inequality is growing. The successful supportive housing initiative has been merged into the state’s Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness, demonstrating a continued commitment by the state. With critical agencies working together on a common goal, we can continue to find new ways to strengthen communities and stabilize families.

 

Roger Herzog is the executive director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC).

SourceBanker & Tradesman

CEDAC Gets $180K to Help the Community Development Sector

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, a Boston nonprofit that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other nonprofit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts, recently announced that it has been awarded $180,000 to establish a new planning grant program to help the state’s nonprofit community development sector.

The funding, from the Kuehn Charitable Foundation, will help nonprofit corporations in Massachusetts explore the feasibility at the earliest stages of project development.

Roger Herzog, executive director of Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation(CEDAC), said, “Throughout our history, CEDAC has provided early-stage financing to community development corporations and other community-based non-profit organizations to help them develop affordable housing and child care facilities.

“But we know that there many more organizations who want to improve their communities by producing or preserving affordable units or commercial space. The Kuehn Planning Grants will allow smaller non-profits to explore opportunities that they might feel are too financially risky otherwise. We’re looking forward to working with these organizations through these grants.”

The Kuehn Planning Grants of up to $15,000 each will be awarded to organizations for costs associated with affordable housing or economic development projects. Preference will be given for projects undertaken by small, community-based organizations, as well as mixed-use and/or mixed-income projects incorporating historic preservation, projects serving low- and moderate-income artists, supportive housing for vulnerable families and individuals, and smaller scale projects.

Jennifer Gilbert, director of the Kuehn Charitable Foundation, observed, “There are nonprofit organizations across the Commonwealth who want to improve their communities by building new affordable housing or economic development space, but are unaware of both the challenges and the funding available to do so.

“These grants will help those agencies determine what is feasible. We are partnering with CEDAC because their expertise in this area will allow these organizations to take the steps in turning their vision into a reality.”

For more than 35 years, CEDAC has provided early stage capital to nonprofit, community-based organizations engaged in effective community development, focusing on three key building blocks of community development: affordable housing, workforce development, and early care and education. CEDAC is also active in state and national housing preservation policy research and development and is widely recognized as a leader in the non-profit community development industry.

According to CEDAC, that more than 18,000 affordable apartments in Massachusetts will be at risk by the end of the decade, including over 5,000 maturing mortgage units at high risk.

For the year ending June 30, 2015, CEDAC posted $5.4 million in operating revenue and $4.8 million in expenses, according to its most recently available annual report.

http://www.massnonprofit.org/news.php?artid=4686&catid=12

SourceMassNonprofit News

MassHousing, DHCD Announce $9.4M In Affordable Housing Trust Fund Financing

MassHousing and the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced $9.4 million in Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) loan closings today which will help create or rehabilitate and preserve the affordability of 454 affordable rental apartments in seven communities.

“These housing communities receiving financing from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund represent a cross section of residents across Massachusetts who need a quality, affordable home,’’ MassHousing Executive Director Timothy C. Sullivan said in a statement. “This housing will be for senior citizens, working families, lower-income residents and homeless veterans and will provide affordable units in communities like Boston and Cambridge where the markets are hot with high rents.’’

The AHTF provides resources to create or preserve affordable housing throughout the state. Funds are available for rental, homeownership and mixed-use projects as well as housing for the disabled and homeless, but may be applied only to the affordable units. AHTF funds are used primarily to support private housing projects that provide for the acquisition, construction or preservation of affordable housing.

MassHousing and DHCD jointly administer the AHTF. Since its creation in 2001, the AHTF has provided $438.7 million in financing for 507 affordable housing communities involving 25,665 housing units.

For most of these housing communities, DHCD has also provided financing and has also allocated Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the sale of which has generated financing toward the cost of completing the housing.

http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2016/10/masshousing-dhcd-announce-9-4m-affordable-housing-trust-fund-financing/?utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=35516307&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_VuJM3XTzHdwLFbwqR6wSs9JQf3TODA7Aqh0GAP2FbS40grof72QyrEHkCpprIUZjyMWlhouChEhojoHEvcW4FfGXtlw&_hsmi=35516307

SourceBanker & Tradesman

From homeless to home: Fall River family moves out of shelter into affordable apartment in Taunton

Courtney Morris no longer has to wonder where she and her children will sleep at night.

Or where they will go to school.

And she now has a safe place to store her things.

“As of 2 p.m. Sept. 26, my family and I signed a lease and we are no longer homeless,” Morris told the dozens of officials who gathered for a ribbon cutting Thursday morning at Carpenter’s Glen affordable housing development in East Taunton.

She uttered those momentous words slowly and in a soft-spoken voice but with deep emotion and conviction.

She wasn’t at the ribbon cutting because it was her job. She was there because it was her life.

After Morris spoke, Carl Nagy-Koechlin, executive director of Housing Solutions for Southeastern Massachusetts, took to the podium.

“I don’t think there are any other questions why we went through this to make this all happen,” Nagy-Koechlin said.

Morris, 31, has been living in a shelter in Fall River with her two daughters, 6 and 13, and her mother, whom she thanked for her support and guidance.

But the four of them will be moving this weekend into an affordable townhouse at Carpenter’s Glen, one of eight units with a section 8 sliding scale rental subsidy.

Up until a few months ago, Morris was scraping by working at K-mart in Fall River until it closed its doors.

At the time, the family of four was squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment in Fall River paying $500 a month. Even after she lost her job, they were still able to swing the rent, just barely, because her mother is on disability, Morris said.

But then Morris complained to the landlord about safety issues and he evicted them with just two days notice, she said. She had no money for first and last month’s rent and a security deposit, so they found themselves in a shelter.

“It was a whirlwind. I lost my job and then my house,” Morris said.

But she didn’t lose hope, she said.

When she first saw her 3-bedroom townhouse at Carpenter’s Glen in June, she had to pinch herself. It was such a far cry from the inner city life her family had been living, she said.

It even has a big grassy backyard, with woods and sky to look out from the kitchen window.

“I can sleep at night without fear,” she said.

She can even dream.

Now that she has secure, affordable housing, she has two main goals, finding gainful employment and continuing her education, which in turn will allow her to offer those same life-changing opportunities to her children, she said.

Morris would like to be a social worker one day, perhaps working with homeless families, she said.

“It’s a beautiful thing when a great need is met,” she said.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20161001/from-homeless-to-home-fall-river-family-moves-out-of-shelter-into-affordable-apartment-in-taunton

 

SourceTaunton Gazette

Taunton makes dent in housing crisis with renovation of Carpenter’s Glen

Mayor Tom Hoye still remembers driving by Carpenter’s Glen in East Taunton in the 1990s when it was just a bunch of “holes in the ground.”

The property had been foreclosed on and the private developer had halted construction and abandoned the project with just the foundations poured.

Hoye kept wondering what would happen to the place.

He soon found out.

“South Shore Housing came to the rescue and it’s been a godsend to the city,” Hoye said at a ribbon cutting Wednesday to celebrate the completion of a major renovation of Carpenter’s Glen.

Back in the 1990s, South Shore Housing, a non-profit housing organization now known as Housing Solutions, built 32 affordable apartments there, as well as a group residence for Department of Mental Health clients.

The original development also included 70 single-family owner-occupied houses adjacent to the townhouses. A portion of those were also designated as affordable.

But that was a long time ago and about five years ago, it because clear the apartments could use a major overhaul, Housing Solutions Executive Director Carl Nagy-Koechlin said.

The Taunton renovation included new roofs; rebuilt front and back porches; new windows; new exterior siding; energy-saving insulation; new high-efficiency boilers; updated kitchens and bathrooms; and a new playground.

And as part of the project, for the first time, eight of the townhouses were set aside for very low income people, including formerly homeless families, with subsidized, sliding scale rents.

“We really understand deeply how difficult it is for working families to find a place to live in the communities where they’ve grown up and want to remain a part of,” Undersecretary of the State Department of Housing and Community Development Chrystal Koregay said at the ribbon cutting.

The total project cost was $8 million – which includes the cost of the Carpenter’s Glen renovation as well as a simultaneous overhaul to a Housing Solutions development in Wareham.

Nagy-Koechlin said the project got off the ground a couple of years ago with $245,000 in Community Development Block Grant money through the mayor’s office of Economic and Community Development.

Hoye said it was great to see all the hard work pay off on such a worthy project. He said he first met Nagy-Koechlin at a late night City Council meeting as they worked to assure the funding would be in place.

“Let’s continue this journey together,” Hoye said Wednesday.

In addition to the local funding, the project was paid for with state and federal grants, as well as a $3 million mortgage Housing Solutions will repay with rents collected, Nagy-Koechlin said.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D. Taunton, said Thursday he remembers working on the initial project in the 1990s when he was assistant to then-mayor Dick Johnson.

“There is a need for affordable housing particularly today when the income gap between the haves and have-nots has never been greater and working class citizens who get up every day and go to work have to struggle to find a place to live,” Pacheco said.

Mark Cook sees that struggle every day.

He is the director of The Matthew Mission at First Parish Church in Taunton, a community outreach center that focuses on helping homeless people, the working poor, veterans, the elderly – anyone in need, he said.

Right now, there are six or seven families with children living out of their cars in Taunton, Cook said.

In one case, the father works full-time and the mother spends her days in the library with their younger child, while the older child is in school, Cook said.

“High rents are doing people in. Working families are becoming homeless families,” said Cook, whose day job is as a disaster captain for the Red Cross.

He can provide families with a warm place to spend the day and vouchers for food and clothing. But he wishes he could do more.

“It makes me feel helpless. When I see them walk away, I feel terrible. The system is definitely broken,” Cook said.

Nagy-Koechlin said Massachusetts has a “Right to Shelter” law that is supposed to guarantee emergency housing be provided to families with children – be it in a shelter or hotel – but too many families fall through the cracks.

Courtney Morris, a single mother of two, will be moving into one of the subsidized units at Carpenter’s Glen this weekend.

Morris, who has been living in a shelter in Fall River, told the officials gathered what secure, affordable housing means to her. Now, she can sleep at night without fear. Now, she can work for a better life for herself and her children.

A place to call home is the foundation on which she can build, she said.

“It’s almost as if she was saying, ‘Now, that I have a place to live, the sky’s the limit’,” Nagy-Koechlin said.

 

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20161001/taunton-makes-dent-in-housing-crisis-with-renovation-of-carpenters-glen

 

SourceTaunton Gazette