1. The Central Massachusetts
Housing Alliance, Inc.
19 TH ANNUAL MEETING
JANUARY 15 TH , 2014

2. Here at CMHA we dream of a world
where everyone has a home…
Mission Statement
Recognizing the dignity of all, CMHA leads a collaborative response to homelessness that fosters
long-term housing stability through prevention, quality services, education and advocacy.

3. Fiscal Year 2013 Overview
CMHA is focused on providing
sustainable housing through:
•Prevention
•Shelter
•Sustainability
•Advocacy

4. Prevention Services
•E L D E R H O M E R E P A I R
• HOPE FOR HOUSING (HFH)
•H O U S I N G C O U N S E L I N G &
HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION
SERVICES

5. Prevention: Elder Services
CMHA provides free home
repairs to elder homeowners
in Worcester and Southern
Worcester County.
•In Fiscal Year 2013, 330
Elder Homeowners were
assisted through Repair
and Maintenance
Services.

6. Prevention: Hope for Housing (HFH)
Interfaith Coalition that includes 29 congregations, dedicated to
preventing homelessness in Worcester County including:
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All Saints Episcopal Church
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
Christ Episcopal Church
Christ the King Catholic Church
Epworth United Methodist Church
First Baptist Church-Holden
First Baptist Church-Worcester
First Church of Sterling
First Congregational Church of Holden
First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury
First Congregational Church of West Boylston
First Congregational Church of Worcester
First Parish Church of Berlin
Greendale People’s Church
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Immaculate Conception Catholic
Church
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic
Church
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church
Paxton Congregational Church
St. Francis
St. George’s Catholic Church
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
St. Stephen’s Catholic Church
Trinity Church Northborough
Trinity Lutheran Church
United Congregational Church
Wesley United Methodist Church

7. Prevention: Housing Counseling
•Provides counseling and information to
tenants and landlords pertaining to
their rights and responsibilities.
•Allocates emergency funds for
qualifying households, including
assistance with utilities, first, last and
security payments, and moving costs.
•In 2013, the Housing Counseling Program assisted 8,099
households with counseling services and provided a total of
907 people with funding for preventative housing services.

8. Prevention: Housing Counseling
Prevention Funding Allocation FY13
Security
Deposit
18.9%
Last Month
Rent
13.1%
Utility
Average
9.4%
First Month
19.8%
Rental
Arrearage
23.5%
Heating
2.3%
Furniture
6.4%
Subsidy
6.7%

9. Shelter Programs
•T H E V I L L A G E A T C A M B R I D G E
STREET
•M A I N S T R E E T
•I V E S S T R E E T

10. Shelter: The Village at Cambridge Street
Apartment based family shelter, providing short-term
housing and support services to individuals and families.
Families living in CMHA shelter
receive access to sustainability
programs including P.O.W.E.R.
•In FY’13 the Village served
107 families and
successfully housed 34.

11. Shelter: Main Street and Ives Street
Each individual in CMHA shelter is provided access to employment and
educational training and housing search assistance to assist families to
transition to self-sufficiency.
Main Street
•In 2013, CMHA opened a scattered-site
location that provides apartment-based
short term housing for 11 families.
Ives Street
•Opened in February 2013 and provides
congregate family shelter.

12. Sustainability Programs
•H O M E B A S E
•D O N A T I O N S C L E A R I N G H O U S E
• PERSONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WORK, EDUCATION & RENEWAL
(P.O.W.E.R.)

13. Sustainability: HomeBASE
Provides homelessness
prevention, apartment
placements and stabilization
services to eligible families
in Worcester County.
• In Fiscal Year 2013 CMHA’s
HomeBASE program assisted
336 families to obtain or
retain safe, affordable
housing.

14. Sustainability: Donations Clearinghouse (DCH)
DCH provides free furniture and
household goods to those moving
out of shelter and into stable
housing.
•More than 680 Worcester
County residents generously
donated 2178 items to help
make a house a home.
• In FY13, 570 households
received furniture and
household goods to make a
fresh start.

15. Sustainability: Personal Opportunities for
Work, Education, and Renewal (P.O.W.E.R.)
Through developing individualized
employment and training plans with each
participant, P.O.W.E.R. strives to increase the
economic stability and self sufficiency of
CMHA families.
• In Fiscal Year
2013, P.O.W.E.R. assisted 41
individuals in finding
employment and/or training
opportunities.

16. Advocacy Programs
•P U B L I C E D U C A T I O N , A D V O C A C Y
& ORGANIZING
•T H E 2 8 T H A N N U A L W A L K F O R
THE HOMELESS
•Y O U T H A G A I N S T
HOMELESSNESS (Y.A.H.)

17. Advocacy: Public Education,
Advocacy & Organizing
Through community education, coalition building, and mobilizing support
for policy and budget initiatives to reduce homelessness and increase access
to affordable housing, CMHA provides Public Education and Advocacy to
raise awareness of homelessness and affordable housing issues.
• Advocacy efforts in 2013
resulted in key legislative
victories for homelessness
prevention.

18. Advocacy: Annual Walk/Run for the Homeless
CMHA’s largest and most successful
fundraiser builds awareness of housing &
homelessness and provides funding for all of
CMHA’s prevention programs.
• In 2013 the WALK raised over
$144,000 in cash and in-kind
donations to aid families in
need of assistance
•1,000 Walkers and 141
registered runners participated.

19. Advocacy: Youth Against Homelessness
A dynamic youth organization that engages high
school students to make a positive impact in their
community.
Participating Y.A.H. Schools Include:
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Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public
School
St. Mary’s High School
South High Community School
St. Peter Marian CCHS
•April 16th, 2014 is the next “Visions of Change” Youth Summit!
Featuring Keynote Speaker Josh Kraft, President, New England Patriots
Foundation

20. CMHA Strategic Plan 2013
In 2013, top executives and board members
worked collaboratively to map out the future
direction of CMHA. The goal of the plan is to
ensure that our services continue to meet the
needs of our changing community.
Vision Statement
“Leading the way to create a
community where everyone has a
home through accessing the tools and
resources to obtain residential and
economic stability.”

21. These achievements would not have been possible
without the support of service
providers, businesses, and faith based organizations in
our community.