Metro Housing|Boston
People First. Housing Always
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Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Housing Supports
In addition to publicly funded stabilization programs, Metro Housing provides a portfolio of Housing Supports tailored to the unique needs of low- and moderate-income Greater Boston residents. These privately supported initiatives command only 15% of our operating budget but serve as a critical force multiplier for large-scale governmental interventions by filling coverage and resource gaps for at-risk residents. Our Housing Supports division delivers enhanced service access and outreach to vulnerable populations in the communities where they live and work, providing eviction prevention, housing search and rehousing resources, and connection points to opportunities for financial skill building, income maximization, and educational and workforce training. These flexible and responsive supports meet our participants wherever they are on road to economic security, helping them to clear high barriers to housing stability and link to mental and physical healthcare services.
Colocations
Our Colocations program extends our service delivery far beyond our Roxbury Crossing headquarters, embedding Metro Housing personnel within partner organizations serving low- and moderate-income residents with housing challenges. Staff members hold regular office hours at colocation sites to provide both onsite assistance and a direct portal to the same programs and services available at our Roxbury Crossing headquarters. Metro Housing also facilitates workshops on affordable housing, financial literacy, and other topics of localized interest. Approximately 1,200 individuals and families access our colocations annually.
Green Space
Green Space is a participant-centric financial coaching program designed to meet the foundational needs of low- and moderate-income families and individuals in Greater Boston. Designed with techniques from the United Ways Financial Empowerment Learning Institute (FELI), Green Space guides participants toward their personal financial goals through community workshops and time-unlimited one-on-one financial coaching. Green Space also provides linkages to housing stabilization resources as needed.
The Fair Housing Project
Fair Housing Project staff members educate tenants and property owners on housing rights and responsibilities. They assist tenants in identifying instances of discrimination, act as intermediaries in disputes with property owners, and help seek reasonable accommodations and modifications. Fair Housing also offers trainings to tenants, property owners, service providers, attorneys, and government agency employees.
Financial Assistance Services
In addition to the annual administration of more than $180 million in state and federal housing vouchers, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts entrusts Metro Housing with the disbursement of Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) and Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding in the Greater Boston area. In combination with our internal direct service programming and external community resources, governmental programs like these allow us to comprehensively meet the needs of vulnerable residents. Our case managers help participants quickly access these emergency funds as well as other benefits that can help a family preempt eviction or secure new housing. In FY21, Financial Assistance distributed $63 million in funds in support of 10,251 families, a significant increase from 1,805 families and $5.1 million in the previous year. We increased the pace of distribution in FY22, distributing $162.5 million to more than 18,000 households.
Leased Housing
Our Leased Housing department administers approximately 11,000 state and federal housing vouchers annually, helping participants and property owners navigate the complex voucher application and lease-up process. Leased Housing also facilitates the federal Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program. FSS is designed to help families achieve self-sufficiency and reach financial, educational, and career goals through supportive services and asset-building escrow accounts.
Our Housing Inspection Services program delivers 20,000 inspections annually for families in subsidized housing, as well as educational programming and technical support for property owners. Our inspectors forge trusting and mutually-beneficial relationships with both large and small property owners; this clear commitment to supporting our participants convinces many landlords to extend greater latitude to families who may be otherwise difficult to place.
Housing Consumer Education Center (HCEC)
Financial Assistance also operates our Housing Consumer Education Center (HCEC), which provides a wide array of housing information, referral and case management services to residents of Greater Boston and 29 surrounding towns and cities. Funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), it is the largest of the state’s nine housing information centers. The HCEC is Metro Housing’s ‘front door’, where any resident can access assistance with housing and benefits and be connected to services by highly skilled case managers and housing specialists.
Specialized Intensive Programs and Services (SIPS)
Specialized Intensive Programs and Services (SIPS) provides time-unlimited wraparound case management services to vulnerable Greater Boston residents living extremely complex lives coupled with extremely low incomes. SIPS serves high-barrier individuals experiencing chronic homelessness due to factors such as advanced age, active addiction, physical and/or mental disabilities, and histories of incarceration. Many participants referred to SIPS have an absence of positive social connections and histories of termination from services due to challenging behaviors - for some, SIPS represents a final chance at stability. Our case managers engage these participants with high-touch, individualized care, countering the isolation and loneliness endemic to their circumstances with compassion and respect.
Where we work
Accreditations
NeighborWorks America
National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling
Awards
Community Quarterback Award for Outstanding Community Leadership 2009
Eastern Bank
Affiliations & memberships
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association
Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA)
National Leased Housing Association
National Low-Income Housing Coalition
Regional Housing Network
AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals)
Housing Partnership Network
Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC)
Massachusetts Nonprofit Network 2020
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people no longer living in unaffordable, overcrowded housing as a result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, People of African descent, People of Asian descent, People of European descent, People of Latin American descent
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These numbers represent the state and federal housing vouchers administered by Metro Housing multiplied by an average of 2.9 individuals per household.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Rents in Massachusetts have reached astronomical heights, with communities in Greater Boston are seeing increases as high as 30 percent over last year. According to The State of the Nation’s Housing 2022 report, nearly one of every four renters is paying more than half of their income to rent. People with the lowest incomes are being hit the hardest and left with the fewest choices.
We believe every person in Greater Boston should always have a place to call home. Metro Housing|Boston’s personalized services help residents of greater Boston bridge gaps in the homelessness prevention and affordable housing system. We help individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes navigate available services, empowering 25,000 households a year to move along the continuum from homelessness to housing stability.
Metro Housing|Boston works seamlessly with government, nonprofits, and corporations to continually increase our impact to the benefit of our participants. With more than 30 years’ experience piloting and implementing housing programs, Metro Housing|Boston has solidified its position as an industry-leading expert on navigating the affordable housing field.
Our broad array of programs and services, as well as our extensive network of property owners and fellow service providers, allow us to address a wide range of housing-related issues, from preventing evictions and homelessness, to helping people find suitable homes, to making rent more affordable.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Metro Housing case managers conduct initial assessments with participants to identify needs, specific barriers, assets, and opportunities, creating a baseline to assess progress along the continuum of housing stability. Due to the unique circumstances of each participant, there is no convenient one-size-fits-all definition of success. Our participants represent a diverse cross-section of at-risk populations with a wide range of assets and needs, and success can take many forms. All of them, however, begin and end with the promotion of stable and sustainable tenancy through Housing First methodology.
The Housing First ethos guiding our programming prioritizes housing retention through stabilization in place or rehousing of displaced participants in safe and secure accommodations. While housing insecurity amplifies the deleterious effects of existing mental and physical health challenges, conversely, housing stability provides the stable base necessary for participants and case managers to jointly address other key social determinants of health and improve overall wellbeing. It represents the fundamental first step in a comprehensive plan of care and serves as the foundation upon which Metro Housing can deploy additional internal and external resources to improve participant mental, physical, and financial health.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Metro Housing|Boston serves the housing needs of more than 25,000 Greater Boston households annually. Our programs and services collaborate with an extensive network of property owners and fellow service providers to help families and individuals attain and maintain safe and suitable housing. We administer approximately 11,000 federal and state housing subsidies for families with children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. In addition to voucher administration, we also provide both walk-in and call-in support to more than 14,000 housing-insecure residents, and we swiftly dispense emergency transition funding to more than 10,000 in-crisis households. Our educational workshops reach tenants, homeowners, and service partners across the region, and we co-locate services with Greater Boston community stakeholders including hospitals, housing providers, and direct service organizations.
In addition to state- and federally-funded voucher administration and emergency rental assistance, Metro Housing has developed an extensive portfolio of Housing Supports tailored to the unique and evolving needs of at-risk residents. Our Housing Supports division offers eviction prevention, rehousing resources, intensive case management, and connection points to opportunities for financial skill building, income maximization, and educational and workforce training.
Housing Supports assists residents with the highest barriers to housing stability, regardless of the severity or duration of their needs. Participants come to Housing Supports with diverse backgrounds, assets, and challenges, and referrals come from a wide range of sources, including government agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, social service agencies, schools, legislators, friends, and family.
The programming under the umbrella of Housing Supports represents only 15% of our operating budget, but these services are a vital force multiplier for our larger-scale government-funded stabilization and homelessness prevention efforts. These flexible supports meet our participants wherever they are on road to economic security, helping them to clear high barriers, link to mental and physical healthcare services, and attain or maintain safe, stable, and sustainable housing.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The community health and economic challenges of the pandemic have vastly increased the demand for Metro Housing’s services, while the constraints of physical distancing significantly interfered with service delivery. We responded by investing in technology and remote infrastructure to shift as much of the work as possible into virtual space, modifying our external and internal processes to balance the housing needs of our participants with our concern for their safety and that of our staff. This evolution of our methods has maintained our high standards of service delivery while simultaneously prioritizing health and well-being for all involved.
Out of necessity for the well-being of our constituents during this time of severe economic upheaval, we have placed an organization-wide focus on preserving endangered tenancies. We have served as the principal conduit for state- and federally-funded rental assistance programs for at-risk Greater Boston residents, distributing Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), and Emergency Rental and Mortgage Arrears (ERMA) funds that helped vulnerable families avoid eviction and homelessness during a once-in-a-generation pandemic. Through these programs and in combination with municipality-specific investments in rental assistance, Metro Housing distributed $63 million in funds in support of 10,251 families in FY21, a significant increase from 1,805 families and $5.1 million in the previous fiscal year. We increased the pace of distribution in FY22, distributing $162.5 million to more than 18,000 households.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Metro Housing|Boston
Board of directorsas of 01/17/2024
Ms. Terry Saunders Lane
Lane Consulting Services
Term: 2024 -
Ms. Cynthia Lacasse
Evernorth
Term: 2012 -
Nader Acevedo
Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce
Kevin Boyle
Susanne Cameron
Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP)
Yongmei Chen
Eastern Bank
Cassandra Clay
Clay Associates; Empower Success Corps
Melissa Fish-Crane
Peabody Properties Inc.
Janet Frazier
Maloney Properties, Inc.
Elizabeth Gruber
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Langley Keyes
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cynthia Lacasse
Evernorth
Mary-Anne Morrison
Retired – Massachusetts Department Housing Community Development
Richard Muraida
Rockland Trust
Geoffrey Sherman
Cedox Capital
Donald Vaughan
Burns & Levinson, LLP
Michael Widmer
Retired - Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
Robert Torres
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Demetriouse Russell
Venn Diagram Partners, LLC
Linda Monteiro
City of Boston / Small Property Owner
Denisse Tejada
Owner, On the Edge Nutrition / Former Participant
Peter Munkenbeck
Munkenbeck Consulting
Terry Saunders Lane
Lane Consulting Services
Rafael Mares
The Neighborhood Developers
Trevor Samios
Winn Companies
Taylor C. Shepherd
ML Strategies
Monalisa Smith
Mothers for Justice & Equality
Whitney Demetrius
Citizens Housing And Planning Association
Josef Rettman
NEI General Contracting
Jason Korb
Capstone Communities LLC
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/22/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.