We All Win When Everyone Has A Home

Real Challenges

Massachusetts is one of the most difficult places in the country for families to secure affordable housing and the opportunity to build a better financial future.

• Each year, more than 10,000 Massachusetts families and 20,000 children experience homelessness.¹
• Homeless children are four times more likely to have developmental delays, twice as likely to have learning disabilities and twice as likely to repeat a grade, most often due to frequent absences and moves to new schools (28% of homeless children go to three or more schools in a single year).²
• Massachusetts ranks 48th in home affordability and 45th in the rate of homeownership.³
• For every 10 low-income families, there are only four units they can afford.⁴
• The number of households spending more than 50% of their income on rent jumped by 36% in 2004-2005.⁵

• Housing First. A paradigm shift in the way Massachusetts serves people experiencing homelessness, the Housing First model immediately stabilizes families in permanent housing and then provides home-based services. United Way provides $1 million annually to support the implementation of Housing First in 14 agencies.

• Home Ownership Preservation Partnership Initiative. Expected to prevent the foreclosure of up to 180 households over the next two years, this public-private partnership utilizes counseling, direct financing and other strategies to support homeowners at-risk.

• Individual Development Accounts. A valuable tool in helping low-income families purchase a home, IDAs are matched savings accounts designed to help them save for a down payment. Savings can also be used to start a business or pay for college or training. United Way has provided $1 million to help as many as 200 families invest in their futures.

Real Change

United Way is advancing the common good by working toward the day when everyone has a safe permanent home.

• 4,386 housing units produced,
  preserved or in property
  management
• 2,744 individuals served by
  agencies operating under a
  Housing First philosophy
• 5,873 individuals retained or
  obtained affordable housing
• $5.3 million invested annually

_{United Way agency partners are now reporting progress every six months. This data was reported for the period July 1, 2007- December 31, 2007.
1 UMASS Boston, McCormack Institute, Situation Critical, Report 2000, Meeting the Housing Needs of Lower Income Massachusetts
Residents, 2000.
2 U.S. Department of Education, 2000; National Center of Family Homelessness, 1999.
3 The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) 2007-2008 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard.
4 The Quest for Economic Independence in the Commonwealth: 2006 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Boston, Crittenton Women’s Union.
5 Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2006-2007, Prepared by The Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.}