BOSTON – The Massachusetts Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition, in partnership with the Legislative Caucus to End and Prevent Homelessness, today convened legislative leaders, housing experts and advocates at the Massachusetts State House for a briefing on the growing threats to permanent supportive housing and the proven Housing First approach amid shifting federal policies and funding streams.
The event, “A Critical Moment for Supportive Housing,” was hosted by the Caucus Co-Chairs State Senator Paul Feeney, State Representative Jim Hawkins, State Representative Rita Mendes, and State Representative Joan Meschino and included a panel discussion moderated by Marty Martinez, President and CEO at United way of Massachusetts Bay.
"Housing First is neither a radical nor novel concept,” said Senator Paul Feeney, Senate Chair of the Massachusetts Caucus to End and Prevent Homelessness. “Permanent supportive housing provides the stability that is badly needed when addressing mental and physical health issues, substance use, and deep poverty. It is a proven model that is both fiscally efficient, and morally right. The Commonwealth must be resolved, in the face of a chaotic federal administration, to keep Massachusetts people in their homes and to work toward ending chronic homelessness."
“I’m grateful to the caucus and to the well-rounded panel of experts who are on the front lines of service to our most vulnerable populations for taking the time to deliver a direct and powerful understanding of the Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition to the Legislature,” said Representative Jim Hawkins. “The need for sustained supportive housing as well as continued growth is more critical now than ever.”
"Supportive housing is an affirmation that regardless of what life throws at us, everyone deserves a home and the support of local community," said Representative Meschino. "Supportive housing helps ensure our friends and neighbors are treated humanely and remain thriving members of the local community. It is a smart macroeconomic choice. And it is the right thing to do."
“Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home,” said United Way’s Marty Martinez. “Permanent supportive housing is one of the most effective tools we have to end chronic homelessness, but federal policy changes are putting that progress at risk. In this moment, Massachusetts must act boldly to preserve the housing and services that keep people housed.”
Experts featured today included Joyce Tavon, CEO of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, John Yazwinski, President and CEO of Father Bills & MainSpring, Carl Nagy-Koechlin, Executive Director of Just-A-Start and Danielle Hazen, Co-Creator and Researcher at the Community Action Hub, who shared her lived experience as well as her professional expertise with homelessness.
“Federal policy changes threaten the housing of more than 3,800 individuals and families with disabilities in Massachusetts who have experienced homelessness,” said Joyce Tavon, Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance. “Now is the time to work together to preserve supportive housing and reimagine how we sustain and expand this resource for our communities.”
The purpose of the briefing was to highlight the proven outcomes of permanent supportive housing in Massachusetts and how proposed changes at the federal level, particularly to the Continuum of Care funding and a move away from solutions such as Housing First, could cause thousands of individuals to lose their homes.
“Nine years ago, I found myself without a job and losing my apartment to being on the streets of Taunton, where I live,” Hazen shared. She shared her journey of living in a shelter and other transitional housing to how she currently rents her own apartment and speaking publicly about her experiences and what support individuals and families facing homelessness need. “I now lead a very full life and never would have thought I would be doing this type of work. I would not be here without these programs.”
Massachusetts currently receives approximately $136 million in federal resources for its Continuum of Care entities across the state, and recent federal changes – while recently delayed – raise urgent questions around how the state can continue to sustain and expand supportive housing and collectively uphold the Housing First approach as the foundation for solutions.
"Housing is the solution to homelessness,” said Rachel Heller, CEO of Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). “For the most vulnerable individuals and families, housing with services provides the foundation to thrive. When we invest in supportive housing, everyone benefits. Our schools and hospitals can devote more time to education and health care, and our police can devote more time to community safety. As a commonwealth, we must commit to preserving and expanding supportive housing."
“We reject federal efforts to criminalize and institutionalize people in need of a safe home and supportive services,” notes Danna Mauch of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health. “For people living with disabling mental health and/or substance use conditions, who represent the majority of chronically homeless individuals, Housing First and Permanent Supportive Housing represent tested, effective solutions delivered with dignity.”
The Massachusetts Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition is led by United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health and the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.
The coalition is focused on creating 11,000 new supportive housing units by 2035 to meet the increasing community need and to prevent and end homelessness. The SPHC is a diverse coalition of more than 80 nonprofit and for-profit developers, healthcare companies, service providers, policy organizations and advocates working to scale supportive housing options and ensure those with the most to gain from a home have what they need to heal and thrive.
The Coalition outlined its Fiscal Year 2027 budget priorities, which can be found here.
Priorities include investment in the Supportive Housing Pool Fund, a new tool created by the Legislature in the 2024 Affordable Homes Act to streamline and expand the production of housing paired with services for individuals, families, youth and young adults who would otherwise experience homelessness. The Supporting Housing Pool Fund integrates supportive services, operating, and capital funding into one coordinated funding process through collaboration between all relevant state agencies. In this moment of fiscal uncertainty created by federal policy and funding shifts, the flex pool is a powerful tool for the Commonwealth to provide resources where they are needed most.
The Coalition is also urging investment in budget line items funding the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), Home and Healthy for Good, Sponsor-Based Permanent Supportive Housing, Department of Mental Health Rental Subsidy and the Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Addiction Services.
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