New Lease For Homeless Families

Massachusetts Faces a Human Crisis

In 2012, the number of families residing in Massachusetts’s shelter/motel system reached a record high; over 2,000 families were living in shelters, and over 1,700 families were staying in state-funded motels. Today almost 5,000homeless families sleep in shelter or state-assisted motel beds each night. Massachusetts spends over $160 million per year on the family shelter system.

Housing Owners Respond

Affordable housing owners in Massachusetts came together to respond to this complex problem. Participating affordable housing owners decided to offer 10-15% of their vacant, affordable units per year to families in the shelter/motel system. To accomplish these goals, the participating housing owners decided to form a new non-profit, New Lease for Homeless Families. New Lease was charged with creating a systematic, efficient framework of pairing homeless families with available units, while complying with all fair housing and regulatory requirements. New Lease also works with participating social service providers to standardize and enhance supportive services for families who are housed through our program to ensure they have the tools they need to thrive in their tenancies.