Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The First Two Years Of Housing First In Quincy, Massachusetts: "This Place Gives Me Peace, Happiness, And Hope", Tatjana Meschede

Center for Social Policy Publications

Housing First is a housing and support services program that attempts to move the most disabled homeless people directly to housing prior to treatment, using housing as the transforming element to support participation in treatment. This approach does not require sobriety or participation in long-term treatment programs unlike the traditional continuum of care approach. Promising results have been demonstrated in a number of projects using this model (Tsemberis & Eisenberg, 2000).

For the past ten years, Father Bill’s Place (FBP), a homeless shelter and housing program in Quincy, Massachusetts, has moved steadily towards providing permanent housing with supportive services, rather …

Bridging The Gaps: A Picture Of How Work Supports Work In Ten States, Randy Albelda, Heather Boushey

Center for Social Policy Publications

In the United States, it is generally assumed that getting a job is enough to make ends meet. But, in today’s labor market, where nearly a quarter of jobs pay low wages and offer no benefits, this couldn’t be further from the truth for millions of workers and their families. Work supports—programs to assist working families to access basics, such as health care, child care, food, and housing—are supposed to fill in the gaps for families, helping them to afford a safe and decent standard of living. The Bridging the Gaps (BTG) project finds that work supports work for the …

Bridging The Gaps Between Earnings And Basic Needs In Massachusetts: Executive Summary And Final Report, Randy Albelda, Jennifer Shea

Center for Social Policy Publications

In the United States, it is generally assumed that holding a steady job is enough to make ends meet. But, in today’s labor market, where nearly a quarter of jobs pay low wages and offer no benefits, this couldn’t be further from the truth for millions of workers and their families. Most workers do not make ends meet on their wages alone. Upper- and moderate-wage workers are not “selfsufficient” as most receive on-the-job benefits, such as employer-provided health insurance or paid sick days, and are eligible for unemployment or disability insurance if they need it. Workers in low-wage jobs find …

Looking Back And Looking Ahead: Policy Visions From The New Deal And Great Society, Françoise Carré

Center for Social Policy Publications

On April 10 and 11, 2007, the Center for Social Policy convened a conference exploring policy visions from the New Deal and Great Society and their implications for today’s policy thinking. Titled, "Looking Back and Looking Ahead", this conference took place at the University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center and the John F. Kennedy Library.

The conference was designed as an opportunity for speakers and participants to reflect on the lessons learned from these two watershed eras of policy innovation and their implications for looking forward. Policy actors and experts participated in three panel discussions on the historical context of …

Preventing Homelessness And Promoting Housing Stability: A Comparative Analysis, Donna H. Friedman, Jennifer Raymond, Kimberly Puhala, Tatjana Meschede, Julia Tripp, Mandira Kala

Center for Social Policy Publications

This final evaluation report is the culmination of a three-year investment of time, energy and resources involving 28 Massachusetts nonprofit organizations: 7 foundations, led by the Boston Foundation, The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development; and Homes for Families which joined with the Center for Social Policy team to conduct 10 focus groups involving 72 parents and individuals who shared their perspectives on homelessness prevention, with the guidance of a consumer advisory board involving six persons who have experienced homelessness. Collectively, we engaged in this evaluation effort because we believed that the outcomes of interventions, practice experience of service …

Housing Resources Leveraged By The Special Homeless Initiative Of The Massachusetts Department Of Mental Health, 1992–2006: Evaluation Of The Special Homeless Initiative, Massachusetts Department Of Mental Health, Tatjana Meschede, Helen Levine, Martha R. Burt

Center for Social Policy Publications

This and a companion report are the first products of an evaluation of the Special Homeless Initiative, a funding stream that began in 1992 and has grown to become an essential tool available to the Department of Mental Health for preventing and ending homelessness among vulnerable people with serious mental illness.

Latino Participation In Food Assistance Programs: A Study Conducted For Project Bread, Anny Rivera-Ottenberger, Elaine Werby

Center for Social Policy Publications

Concern with low participation rates of households eligible for the Food Stamp program is shared among many groups focusing on the social and health needs of the low income population. While strides have been made in improving these rates, still both nationally and here in Massachusetts too many families are still food insecure, or worse, still hungry. Project Bread, the leading statewide anti-hunger organization, allocates resources for research, programs, and activities to promote greater utilization of the food stamp and other food assistance programs.

Project Bread through its direct service program provides telephone and Internet information and assistance to potential …

Bridging The Gaps: Structuring Benefits To Promote Mobility For Low Wage Workers, Randy Albelda, Heather Boushey

Center for Social Policy Publications

Low-wage workers have always faced difficulties earning enough to meet their basic needs in the context of the complex financial tradeoffs between receiving public benefits and taking on any or more employment. However, welfare reform and skyrocketing housing and medical costs have exacerbated these challenges to low income families, policy makers, and the providers and agencies that serve them. Employment – often at low-wages – is imperative for most families and, even with supplementary public benefits, financial independence is not easy to achieve for many working families. Wages are too often too low to meet the high cost of living …