For Applicants Housing Programs Supported Housing Programs

The Boston Housing Authority has entered into agreements with social services and other agencies to provide supportive services to Applicants and Residents, including targeted populations, who may need special help in order to establish and maintain their tenancies. The following are some of the assistance required under such agreements which may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following services:

1. Assistance in evaluating applicants for program participation.

2. Providing housing search assistance and other financials supports, such as brokers fees and security deposit, related to securing a tenancy with a housing choice voucher.  

3. Checking to see if the residents are paying their rents and other charges and are properly maintaining their units.

4. Helping residents to maintain their households, including financial counseling and economic mobility. 

5. Providing specialized supportive services and crisis intervention in order to obtain necessary treatment to avoid eviction action and/or become self-sufficient.

All Applicants and residents who participate in these programs must meet all the screening requirements for the public housing  or voucher program for which they are applying. 

The following is a list of current Supported Housing Programs. Each partnering agency completes the Applicant intake process to ensure the Applicant does meet their program eligibility requirements to then refer each prospective Applicant candidate to the BHA. 

1. Jeremiah The BHA will make available up to twelve public housing (12) units for families enrolled in the Jeremiah program that are in need of housing as a resource.  Jeremiah Program (https://jeremiahprogram.org) is a national organization with a mission to disrupt the cycle of poverty for single mothers and their children, two generations at a time. When a mother invests simultaneously in her personal and professional goals and the education of her children, she can re-author her family’s outcomes and act as a change agent within her community. We know this because we see the proof points every day in our classrooms and on our campuses.  From time to time Jeremiah will refer applicants to the BHA until the 12 units are occupied. 
   The agreement is effective January 2023 and expires in 4 years with an option to extend for 1 year. 

2. JRI at the Groveland Elderly/Disabled Development located in Mattapan. Referring agency Justice Resource Institute, Inc. For more information click here.

3. Summer House at the Malone Elderly/Disabled Development located in Hyde Park. Referring agency Southwest Boston Senior Services, Inc. D/B/A ETHOS.

4. ELAHP at the Torre Unidad Elderly/Disabled Development located in the South End. Referring agency Boston Medical Center Corporation D/B/A Elders Living At Home Program. For more information click here.

5. Amory Street Families Supportive Services at the Amory Street Elderly/Disabled Section 8 Project Based Voucher Site located in Roxbury. Referring agency Upham's Corner Health Committee, Inc., DBA Upham's Elder Service Plan. Clients for this program are screened in accordance to the BHA's Administrative Plan policies. For more information click here.

6. HOPWA in the Family housing program. Referring agency Aids Action Committee.

7. HomeBase throughout the BHA Family Developments located in the City of Boston. Referring agency Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership.

8. Healthy Start in Housing throughout the BHA's Family Developments located in the City of Boston. Referring agency Boston Public Health Commission. For more information click here.

9. Health Starts At Home / Being Well  throughout the BHA's Family and Elderly/Dsiabled Developments located in the City of Boston. Referring Agency Boston Medical Center. For more information click here.

10. SAMHSA throughout the BHA's Family and Elderly/Disabled Developments located in the City of Boston. Referring aencies Pine Street Inn and Boston Public Health Commission.

11. Leading the Way Home (“LTWH”)  The BHA shall issue tenant based vouchers to at least 300 families from the Massachusetts State Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”) shelter system.  As requested by the BHA, DHCD shall develop a Leading the Way Home Referral List, to consist of all families whose last permanent residence prior to entering shelter was in the City of Boston and who are then receiving emergency shelter under the EA program ("Boston EA Families").  Families with children enrolled in Boston Public Schools ("BPS") shall not be referred to this list, as those families are subject to referral under a separate partnership between BHA and BPS. Families may be in shelter outside of Boston so long as their residency prior to entering shelter was in Boston. While families currently enrolled in BPS should not be referred, families enrolled in charter schools or other non-BPS schools in Boston shall also be referred under this agreement.
    In consideration for the vouchers issued to DHCD shelter families, DHCD will fund a program to provide stabilization services to LTWH Participants through its network of Providers Stabilization services will be available to all LTWH for a minimum of twelve (12) months.  Each provider will develop a Stabilization Plan and will coordinate and incorporate deemed appropriate for an LTWH participant. 
    In addition to stabilization services, DHCD will work with its providers to assist families with relocation costs that may present a barrier to a family's participation in the LTWH program. Such items may include security deposits or moving expenses.
    The LTWH agreement with BHA is effective August 2022 and expires in 3 years with an option to extend for 2 years. 

12. Boston Public Schools:  Under a Memorandum of Agreement and as funding is available, the BHA issues tenant based vouchers to families referred from Boston Public Schools (BPS) that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.  BPS, through its Homeless Education Resource Network (HERN) identifies families that are homeless or hous through its network of school-based homeless liaisons that are assigned to each school.  The homeless liaisons refer applicants to a centrally administered BPS list that ultimately referred to BHA when vouchers are available.  Upon the referral of applicants, BHA determines program eligibility and issues housing vouchers.  BPS resources provide housing search, including startup costs like security deposit and broker’s fees, and ongoing stabilization services.   Since the relationship was formalized in 2020, the BHA has issued more than 1500 vouchers to BPS families.Additionally, the Family-Led Stability Initiative (FLSI) lead by Higher Ground is a unique collective impact initiative focused on reducing student homelessness. Since January 2018, four non-profit organizations, in collaboration with three city agencies, including BHA, have provided permanent housing for 239 homeless families including 327 students attending nine of 20 FLSI – participating Boston schools. Some of the FLSI housed families overlap with the BHA-BPS voucher partnership while others are receiving BHA Public Housing units.

13. Upham’s Pace Landmark Assisted Living Vouchers
    The Upham's Comer Health Committee, Inc. has an Upham's PACE division which administers a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly ("Pace Program") for residents at of the Landmark Assisted Living Facility, located at 63 Parker Hill Avenue Boston, MA 02120.  Since the Landmark Assisted Living Facility was being repurposed and would no longer serve as an Assisted Living Facility, the BHA agreed with Upham’s PACE to make not more than thirteen (13) housing vouchers (the "Landmark Vouchers"), available to house persons who clients are supported by Upham's PACE and who are eligible. 
    The agreement is effective August 2023 and expires in 4 years with an option to extend for 1 year.  As of January 31, 2023, all eligible households from the Landmark facility have been referred to BHA.