MBHP partners with Somerville Homeless Coalition to bring RAFT program to residents of Somerville and Cambridge

In an effort to more effectively provide homelessness prevention assistance, Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP) has partnered with Somerville Homeless Coalition to bring financial assistance to help families in Somerville and Cambridge who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The new colocation is made possible by a grant from the Bank of America Foundation.Through the partnership, MBHP staff will administer the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, a state-funded homelessness prevention program that gives short-term financial assistance.

A staff member from the Boston-based nonprofit works out of the Somerville Homeless Coalition office once a week to help families with the RAFT application process. 

This is the twelfth such partnership MBHP has established to bring their services into the communities they serve, and the organization is currently working with their partners on establishing another south of Boston. 

“Offering our services outside of our downtown office means we can be more responsive to our program participants and their housing needs,” said Chris Norris, MBHP executive director. “By making our staff available in the communities we serve, families and individuals have greater access to our programs and services.”

“Colocations are a great way for MBHP to meet families and individuals where they are,” said Kate Fulton, MBHP’s assistant director of housing supports. “We are so happy to partner with Somerville Homeless Coalition in bringing the RAFT program to the families and individuals they serve.”

Families who come to these locations to work with MBHP staff also benefit from learning about the programs and services offered by their local agencies.

“It made perfect sense for us to support this partnership with MBHP,” said Mark Alston-Follansbee, executive director of Somerville Homeless Coalition, noting that the colocation “lowers the barrier between residents and the benefits they could receive, resulting in a less stressful procedure that works better for everyone. We appreciate all the work MBHP does and are happy to help in any way we can.”

“People who are homeless or at risk of becoming so need access to financial assistance to help them climb back toward self-sufficiency,” said Bob Gallery, Massachusetts president, Bank of America. “This colocation effort by MBHP and Somerville Homeless Coalition will help connect vital support to those who need it most.”