Home is a refuge; we know this to be true. But for many, home has been long out of reach. Boston's Housing First Initiative is changing that for our community's most long-term homeless.

 

Chronically homeless people have myriad vulnerabilities. They suffer from complex health and mental health disabilities that are essentially impossible to address amidst the chaos of homelessness. They are also often victims of crime, their safety constantly at risk.

 

Boston's Housing First Initiative is ending this tragedy for the most long-term homeless by placing people in housing first - immediately removing the chaos of living on the streets.

 

Housing First saves lives and saves money. When a person is housed rather than living on the streets or in shelters, it saves our community about $9,500 per person/year in health care and public safety alone: providing a dignified and cost-effective solution to homelessness.

 

Once housed, people are connected with services and begin to rebuild their lives. They establish relationships with friends, family, and community and move on to more independent living; decreasing their need for services over time. 

 

In four years, the City of Boston's Housing First Initiative has placed over 400 chronically homeless people in dignified permanent housing. Today over 90% are maintaining their housing and have not returned to the streets or shelters.

 

Friends supports our City's vital initiative through our Housing First Start-up Fund. The Fund supports crucial program services like housing placement and case management. And it helps people overcome critical initial barriers to housing, like funds for security deposits and first month's rent, so they can move immediately into their own homes - many for the first time in their lives.

 

We're also very excited to launch our new Housewarming Registry which offers you the opportunity to provide essential household items that can help turn someone's empty new apartment into a warm, welcoming home.

 

And there's more to do. This coming year, we hope to help over 100 more people move from the streets and shelters into homes of their own. They'll all need a little help to get started.

 

We need your support. Your donation to the Fund or the Registry will transform someone's life and make our community a better place for all of us. Thank you!

You can help them make a house a home. Browse through the items on our brand new gift registry and help provide people with the essential furnishings and household items we all need to make our house a home.

You can sponsor individual items like a set of sheets or select the entire bedroom!

Based in Medfield,

NewLife provides high-quality, gently used furniture & household items to people overcoming difficult circumstances.

Marsh  USA employees are participating in our Housewarming Registry by donating  

Welcome Home Packages filled with the basic items we all need to make a house a home. They purchased this package for Daniel last month. For the last few years, Daniel was sleeping in a Veteran's shelter. Today he's in his own home - safe, comfortable, and beginning to rebuild his life. 

Thanks to a very generous grant from Cummings Foundation and the talented team at iFactory, we have a new website that makes it easy to learn about Friends and the many ways you can be part of the solution to homelessness!

Visit us here.

"As Theresa selected furniture for her new apartment, she told me she has 12 grandchildren! She clearly looked forward to being able to have them visit her in her new home."       

 

In this beautiful post, "Smiles & Hugs", NewLife Home Refurnishing Board Member Barbara Yates tells about her experience providing furniture and household items for people who spent years on the streets and in shelters.

 

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