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City, state, and federal leaders and other officials came together to celebrate the grand opening of the Worcester Housing Authority’s A Place to Live. (Photo credit: Worcester Housing Authority)
In November 2023, the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA) opened “A Place to Live,” a 24-unit development located at 38 Lewis Street providing permanent housing and wraparound support services for members of the city’s chronically homeless population. While delayed due to the pandemic, the project is an outgrowth of the work of former City Manager Ed Augustus’s Task Force for Sustaining Housing First Solutions, on which WHA CEO Alex Corrales and The Health Foundation's former president & CEO Jan Yost served. Funding for construction of the units was secured from a combination of federal, state, and City of Worcester sources.
Residents are selected through a lottery process administered by the Massachusetts Continuum of Care and the building’s first tenants began moving in during December. The WHA has hired a case manager to work with residents onsite, connecting them with community resources and services.
In anticipation of the project’s completion, Building Futures, a nonprofit affiliate of the WHA dedicated to providing low-income residents with the programs and services they need to thrive and achieve self-sufficiency, set out to raise funds to outfit the facility. The Health Foundation awarded a 2023 Activation Fund grant of $105,000 for the purchase of appliances and furniture for the facility’s studio apartments and common areas. Grant funds were also used to purchase essential supplies for each resident, such as cookware and bedding.
At a ribbon-cutting event on October 31, 2023, Mr. Corrales said, “This is right in line with WHA’s mission. We are in the business of helping people better themselves, providing them the tools to help build a better future for themselves and their loved ones. With the services offered by a case manager and the support of community agencies, I am confident that A Place to Live will help improve the lives of those who live here.”
WHA has a proven track record of implementing innovative strategies to help families achieve economic self-sufficiency. From 2011-2017, The Health Foundation awarded more than $3 million to WHA for its “A Better Life” program, a Round 3 Synergy Initiative project that involved providing comprehensive wraparound services aimed to help residents transition out of public housing. The project has led to system changes to sustain and replicate the model at other Housing Authorities in Gloucester, New Bedford, and Taunton.
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