FamilyAid

Familyaid is greater Boston's largest organization solely dedicated to children and parents facing homelessness, providing prevention services, emergency shelter, housing and support, and comprehensive case management to 5,444 children and parents in fy23. Our work includes: homelessness prevention: Familyaid's early intervention model mitigates the trauma and financial ruin of homelessness by addressing crises "upstream," before families enter the eviction process. Prevention partners Boston public schools, Boston children's hospital, and Boston medical center identify families facing homelessness and refer them to Familyaid for comprehensive services that restore stability and lead to long-term success. In the past three years, our prevention program has grown from 200 children and parents to 3,427 in fy23. We are now Boston public school's leading homelessness prevention partner, working with homeless liaisons in all 125 schools to identify struggling families and help them gain stability. We are also the first homeless services provider to be funded by masshealth for our Boston children's hospital prevention partnership.shelter: Familyaid provided shelter, housing placement, and comprehensive case management to 873 children and parents in 135 leased shelter units in fy23. We opened a new crisis shelter in fall 2021 for homeless families seeking refuge in emergency rooms at Boston children's hospital and Boston medical center, funded with a combination of public and private resources.stabilization: all children and parents engaged with Familyaid receive an array of stabilization services over a one-year period to promote long-term self-sufficiency. In fy23, case managers provided stabilization services to 2,080 children and parents. A growing team of "navigators" is deepening the effectiveness of our stabilization work by bringing content expertise and resources to case managers and building our formal partner network in the areas of workforce development, child development and educational supports, and behavioral health. Over the past year, the agency also prioritized creating positive experiences for the children in our care to increase their resilience and offset the harmful effects of the trauma they have experienced. Systemic change: Familyaid is leading a new four-year, multi-sector collaboration to map the systems of social services for children experiencing homelessness. By identifying gaps, stakeholders will be able to implement more effective, coordinated services while building public support for policies that improve the overall system of services for homeless children. A broad coalition of nonprofit providers, agency leaders, housing developers, policymakers, families experiencing homelessness, and other allies are participating.familyaid recognizes that addressing family homelessness requires strong partnerships. We are proud and grateful to collaborate with the philanthropic community, other nonprofits, government agencies, and advocacy groups to identify and advance lasting solutions to family homelessness.