HomeStart was founded in 1994 in response to an overcrowded shelter system and the suffering of individuals and families affected by homelessness. The organization began as a small pilot program with the then-radical idea that the best way to end homelessness was to invest resources in helping homeless families and individuals get out of shelter and into homes of their own. HomeStart believes that (1) the most effective way to end homelessness is to help families and individuals get into and keep homes of their own and (2) the only way to break the cycle of homelessness is to invest in prevention solutions that stop homelessness before it starts.
After two decades of successfully identifying housing, placing families in affordable homes, and providing stabilization services to ensure families maintain successful tenancies, HomeStart partnered with the Boston Housing Authority in 2016 to implement the first-ever landlord-funded reimbursement rate model for eviction prevention services. The model is simple and proven to be highly effective; they intervene on behalf of a tenant facing non-payment eviction, providing services to address the immediate crisis, stop the eviction proceedings, and make an initial payment to the landlord toward the back rent owed. At this point the landlord pays an initial portion of the negotiated per-eviction reimbursement rate. HomeStart then works with the tenant for 12 months to help them maintain housing stability, after which the landlord pays the remaining portion of their reimbursement. Their results have been impressive, preventing nearly 3,000 non-payment evictions with 97% of these households remaining in stable housing 12 months later and 95% of them remaining in stable housing 4 years later. Not only does Homelessness Prevention save families from the trauma of being evicted, but it also saves taxpayers in Massachusetts over $14M in 2020.
Partnering with the Lynch Foundation
The Covid-19 pandemic created despair across the country as the rent burden drove working poor households into homelessness. In Boston, nearly half of renters are paying more rent than they can reasonably afford and one in every four rental households is paying more than 50% of their monthly income to rent.
In May of 2020, due to their success in Greater Boston and the South Shore, the Foundation introduced the HomeStart team to Secretary Michael Kenneally who facilitated a partnership with the Mass Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to help leverage political levers to expand their programs across the state. The DHCD helped to accelerate the expansion process by identifying regional priorities, selecting partner organizations, and convening stakeholders in all six Housing Court sites. In addition, the Lynch Foundation Trustees approved a one-time major grant to support HomeStart’s growth and expansion and make several key introductions to other major funders – one of the largest one-time grants made by the Foundation.