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Additional Resources for Housing & Shelter Providers

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Articles, Reports, Presentations, Briefs, & Legislative Updates

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2023

President Biden Releases FY24 Budget Request with Modest Discretionary Funding Increases, Plus Major Proposed Investments in Mandatory Spending, National Low Income Housing Coalition, March 2023. President Biden released his proposed FY24 budget, which includes "increased funding for affordable housing and homelessness resources".  Expanding housing vouchers, resources for eviction prevention, expanding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and more are all funded through this proposed budget that would increase HUD funding by 1.6%. 

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Western Mass Network to End Homelessness FY2023 Budget Priorities

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The issues that arise when federal agencies define child homelessness differently, NPR, February 2023. HUD and the Department of Education have different definitions of homelessness, meaning their reporting on the number of children experiencing homelessness varies drastically--about 81,000 vs. more than 1,000,000. Last year, two bills were introduced that would align HUD's definition with DOE's, but neither made it out of committee.

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2022

'It is the obvious thing.' The White House tries a new tack to combat homelessness, NPR, Jennifer Ludden, December 2022. 

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Supporting Health Care Discharge Planning for patients experiencing homelessness. Resources, information and a support line to assist hospital staff in placing individuals who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Published September 2022.

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Pittsfield Report on the Needs for Housing Resource Center. Berkshire Housing Development, August 2022.

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Greenfield's vision for Emergency Sheltering, June 2022.

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A must-read regarding strong city leadership, public and private partnerships and a deep commitment to housing first. How Houston moved 25,000 people from the streets into homes of their own. June 2022.

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USICH releases principles for addressing encampments. June 2022.

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Louison House Gets $500,000 to support youth housing in the Northern Berkshires, Greta Jochem, Berkshire Eagle, May 2022. 

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Homelessness still a top issue in the region, Daily Hampshire Gazette, May 2022. 

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Equity Measures being required of HUD! Secretary Fudge Announces Directive to Review HUD Policies Posing Barriers to Housing for People with criminal histories, April 2022. 

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Redlining in Pittsfield MA, A case study. A Report Commissioned by The Greylock Federal Credit Union with the support of Berkshire Bank, the Berkshire Branch of the NAACP, and the MCLA Foundation, April 2022

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National Low Income Housing Coalition's National Shortage of Affordable Rental Housing. April 2022.

 

The Homelessness Crisis: A Monster of our own making, Heidi Marston, April 2022. 

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Greenfield Health Dept. Proactive on addressing homelessness encampments, The Recorder, April 2022. 

 

Three County Continuum of Care receives $3M to support housing services, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Mary Byrne, March 2022. 

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Bipartisan Efforts Help to Keep Homeless Kids off the Streets by Colleen Smith, 3/18/2022, National Conference of State Legislatures

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Housing study sponsored by Way Finders with UMass Donahue Institute. Springfield Republican and Daily Hampshire Gazette, March 2022. Full report here.

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A Housing Vision for the Berkshires, 1 BERKSHIRE. March 2022.

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Homeless in Pandemic, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Aryan Rai, March 2022. 

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Homeless population survey underway, Daily Hampshire Gazette, February 2022.

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The Interfaith Council of Franklin County, awarded $25,000 by city of Greenfield, The Recorder, Mary Byrne, February 2022.

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Northampton's Affordable housing challenge, guest columnist, Jim Reiss, Daily Hampshire Gazette, January 2022.

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National Healthcare for the Homeless - January 2022 - Healing Hands issue (featuring the Path Program of Eliot CHS)

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Service agencies gear up for sub-freezing temps, Mary Byrne, The Recorder, January 2022.

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My Turn - Help Needed for Homeless folks on a cold winter night, Amy Clarke - The Recorder January 2022.

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Springfield Pioneer Valley Phase II housing report. Update to the Donahue Report, January 2022.      

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Western Mass Network to End Homelessness FY2022 Budget Priorities

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2021

The Bill for My Homelessness Was $54,00, New York Times, December 2021.

 

How should Massachusetts fund its emergency shelter system? Lawmakers vouch for regional equity, 24/7 shelters, Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, December 2021.

 

Advocates urge the state to improve its shelter system, Claudia Chiappa, The Recorder, November 2021.  

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Expanding access for people in the justice system! A briefing for leaders to Improve Public Safety and Health. October 2021.

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Pretreatment In Action: Interactive Exploration from Homelessness to Housing Stabilization, new publication from Jay Levy, October 2021. 

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Overview of Affordable Housing in Amherst: Facts, Trends, and Future. Presented by John Hornik, Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, September 2021.

 

Federal Emergency Housing Vouchers Still coming to Berkshire County, Meg Britton-Mehlish, The Berkshire Eagle, September 2021.

 

Advocates struggle to find homes for tenants with new emergency vouchers in Northampton area, Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette, August 2021.  

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Having the Greatest Impact on Homelessness and Racial Inequities with Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Resources, The Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response, Updated July 2021

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Supporting persons leaving incarceration in securing housing, Bankrate.com. May 2021.

 

Rental Affordability and COVID-19 in Rural New England - New England Public Policy Center, April 2021.

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New Research Links Income Inequality with Increased Cost Burdens and Homelessness- The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, April 2021.

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The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes. Aurand, Emmanuel, Threet, Rafi, & Yentel, National Low Income Housing Coalition, March 2021.

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Greater Springfield Regional Housing Analysis Report: The first in-depth scan of the region in the COVID era - UMass Donahue Institute, March 2021.

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2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1

"From MHSA, 3/19/21: On Thursday HUD released the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1. The report outlines the key findings of the Point-In-Time (PIT) count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) conducted in January 2020.

 

From the HUD press release:

 

The report found that 580,466 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2020, an increase of 12,751 people, or 2.2 percent, from 2019.

 

The report found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased significantly among unsheltered populations and people experiencing chronic homelessness. Veteran homelessness did not decrease compared with 2019, and homelessness among family households did not decrease for the first time since 2010. The report also found that people of color are significantly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness.

 

Read the full HUD press release.

 

Given that the report is based on January 2020, the report does not reflect any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the report is available at the state and CoC level here.

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The Lasting Impact of the Pandemic on Homelessness in the U.S.

From Wired: “Experiencing homelessness has always been a dire health risk, and COVID-19 has only worsened that danger. Unhoused people are disproportionately affected by health conditions that can make coronavirus cases more severe, and are often forced to shelter, eat, and access hygiene in congregate settings where social distance is difficult to maintain. Experts knew this from the start, and they have launched heroic efforts to create safe places for unhoused people to shelter and quarantine during the pandemic. Many of those programs, especially those that placed homeless people in empty hotel rooms, have been successful. Now, under the Biden administration, advocates are hopeful that they’ll be able to expand and improve those programs, and treat homelessness as the solvable problem it is.” January 2021.

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Western Mass Network to End Homelessness 2021 - 2022 Bill Priorities

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The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) is doing a great deal of work on Improving Housing to Improve Health (IH2 Project). This is a five-year grant which seeks to answer how members of the Franklin County/North Quabbin Health Improvement Plan changes our regions' policies and systems to improve access the stable housing. 

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Coordinating with systems of care for people in the criminal justice system Justice Center, The Council of State Governments.

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Housing options for re-entry, Reentry and Housing Coalition.

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Out of Reach 2021: Massachusetts. National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2021.

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COVID-19 Information

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COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Congregate Care Organizations

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Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless March 30th Legislative Briefing on COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Issues - Video

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Emergency Assistance Bill:

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HomeBASE Bill:

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COVID-19 Housing Equity Bill:

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Eviction Diversion Initiative Training

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Including ERAP, RAFT, ERMA, TPP, and more

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