Grant Partners

Metro Housing|Boston, in partnership with Boston Medical Center (BMC), is serving patient families who face imminent homelessness, eviction, foreclosure, or have an impending housing court date. Families referred by the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, Obstetrics Clinic, Newborn Nursery, and the Domestic Violence Program are provided with complex stabilization services. In addition to supporting clients, the grant partners will develop infrastructure for sustainable and efficient data sharing across the two organizations.

The Community Builders (TCB), in partnership with the Family Health Center of Worcester, Worcester Addresses Childhood Trauma (Worcester ACT), the Regional Environmental Council (REC) Clark University, and Boston College, is working to understand and document the connections between trauma and housing instability.  The partner organizations are integrating trauma-informed services, supports and property management protocols to assist residents in maintaining housing stability. Trauma-informed care-trained Community Life staff and resident Health Champions support residents by providing resources and education through group information sessions and other community-based activities. They also provide referrals to needed services, including emergency and ongoing support with Worcester ACT, trauma treatment through Family Health Center of Worcester, food access through the REC, and eviction prevention services. To support these activities, TCB is increasing its capacity by supporting ongoing training and coaching for staff, developing leadership opportunities for residents, and reviewing and adapting the infrastructure necessary for this cross-sectoral partnership to be sustained.

The Community Builders (TCB), in partnership with the Family Health Center of Worcester, Worcester Addresses Childhood Trauma (Worcester ACT), Clark University, and Boston College, is working to understand and document the connections between trauma and housing instability.  The partner organizations are integrating trauma-informed services, supports and property management protocols to assist residents in maintaining housing stability. Trauma-informed care-trained Community Life staff and resident Health Champions support residents by providing resources and education through group information sessions and other community-based activities. They also provide referrals to needed services, including emergency and ongoing support with Worcester ACT, trauma treatment through Family Health Center of Worcester and other appropriate mental health providers, and eviction prevention services. To support these activities, TCB is increasing its capacity by developing leadership opportunities for residents and the infrastructure necessary for this cross-sectoral partnership to be sustained.

Metro Housing|Boston, in partnership with Boston Medical Center (BMC), is serving patient families who face imminent homelessness, eviction, foreclosure, or have an impending housing court date. Families referred by the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, Obstetrics Clinic, Newborn Nursery, and the Domestic Violence Program are provided with complex stabilization services. In addition to supporting clients, the grant partners will develop infrastructure for sustainable and efficient data sharing across the two organizations.

Project Bread, in partnership with the Family Health Center of Worcester and the Regional Environmental Council, is addressing food insecurity to increase the consumption of healthy foods among the patients of Family Health Center of Worcester. The partner organizations are formalizing a referral system for patients of the health center who screen positive for food insecurity to connect them to available resources in the community that will contribute to sustainable nutrition solutions. This includes its partner the Regional Environmental Council, which enables access to affordable, local produce through farmers markets and mobile markets. To support these activities, Project Bread is increasing its capacity by developing the infrastructure necessary for this cross-sectoral partnership to be sustained.

Way Finders, Inc. is a community development organization and the largest nonprofit housing provider in Western Massachusetts.  In partnership with Behavioral Health Network (BHN) and Mercy Medical Center (Mercy), the team will provide a consistent Family Care Coordinator who will anchor, coordinate and oversee the clients’ progress from the moment they enter shelter until one year past the attainment of secure, permanent housing.  They will address barriers that lead to housing instability and poor health outcomes, connecting with BHN for behavioral health services and Mercy for medical care, all the while navigating social service systems and providing wraparound services like employment support, financial education, access to nutritious food, and afterschool programs.  The planning phase of this initiative will develop a case management approach that could expand coordinated or joint services to all families in the shelter portfolio. 

The Community Builders (TCB) is a nonprofit real estate developer and owner that develops housing for families and seniors, invests in local businesses and public amenities that strengthen neighborhoods, and constructs or preserves hundreds of affordable and mixed-income housing developments.  This initiative will focus on TCB communities in Worcester which house 1,500 low-income residents across three housing development sites.  In partnership with Family Health Center of Worcester, Central Mass Housing Alliance, the Worcester Police Department, and researchers at Boston College and Clark University’s Local Action Research Partnership, this team will implement a family-centered intervention to address housing stability and trauma as key social determinants of health. 

Project Bread is a statewide food security organization dedicated to combating hunger and promoting positive health outcomes through access, advocacy, engagement, and education. This initiative will focus on low-income residents in Worcester County, particularly of Southbridge and Webster, and coordinate services for patients of Family Health Center of Worcester (FHCW).  In partnership with the Regional Environmental Council, Health Leads, and the UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program, medical providers at the health center will refer food-insecure clients to an Enrollment Coordinator.  This position will pre-screen families for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, administer enrollment assistance, provide case management, and assist with the re-certification process.  The Coordinator also ensures clients are aware of supplemental food and nutrition resources such as the Healthy Incentive Program; food pantries; the Women, Infants, and Children program; school meals; etc.  The project will address how the social service partners of this team can collect data on food access to share with FHCW, implement a mobile market to offer more healthy produce, and strengthen its nutrition education activities. 

Metro Housing Boston (Metro Housing) provides innovative and personalized services that help individuals and families achieve housing stability, economic self-sufficiency, and an improved quality of life.  Partnered with Boston Medical Center (BMC), Metro Housing established the Housing to Health program, which targets low- and moderate-income families with children, and administers emergency funds via the state’s Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program.  BMC screens primary care patients to identify those with housing instability through indicators like rent and utility arrearages, eviction notices, frequent moves, and living in overcrowded conditions.  The team will focus their planning year on developing a data management solution that bridges the various systems, and allows partners access to comprehensive information on all services that a patient receives.  Health Leads will ensure that BMC patients are able to identify, access, and choose the resources they need to be healthy by leveraging referrals and connections to social services, particularly housing, through its REACH database.  Medical Legal Partnership-Boston will provide legal consultation on issues of patient privacy and access to data.