Metro Housing Takes Steps to Improve Response to Racism
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In early June, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the protests that erupted around the country that amplified the cause of the Black Lives Matter movement, Metro Housing
released a statement
calling for changes that will increase opportunity for everyone, including the reform of our criminal justice system, increasing public school funding and job training, and investments in more affordable housing for families with the lowest incomes.
At that time, we made a commitment to address structural racism, beginning with our internal operations.
To that end, Metro Housing is in the process of hiring an external consultant to help guide us through the process of reviewing our current anti-racism policies and to help us determine what changes we need to make.
Listening sessions - where people can talk open and freely about their concerns and observations - will be held with staff, Board members, and our program participants.
At the conclusion of these series of listening sessions, a working group will be formed that will develop an action plan that will be enacted during the ensuing months. The entire process, which will also include looking at programmatic and policy options, is expected to take nine to twelve months. This is not a one-off, one-time project. This is an ongoing, integral part of Metro Housing’s Fair Housing Project, with the necessary funding and support to advance defined and measurable outcomes.
As we made clear in our original statement, Metro Housing is
not perfect. Like our greater society, we have work to do and will continue to hold ourselves accountable.
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Metro Housing in the News
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Metro Housing continues to maintain a strong presence in the local media, working to ensure that the people we serve are not left out when it comes to policies that would preserve housing stability or access to housing that is safe and affordable. We have served as a resource for stories about the need for rent and mortgage assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.
Click on the headlines below to read the most recent media stories.
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METRO HOUSING PROGRAM UPDATES
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RAFT SEES JUMP IN APPLICATIONS
Beginning with the start of the health emergency in March, demand for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program surged dramatically. This state-funded program provides up to $4,000 for eligible households to help stay in their homes. The overwhelming demand for RAFT assistance resulted in Metro Housing receiving more than
6,800 pre-applications
in FY20. Metro Housing
assisted 1,805 of these households with the $5.2 million
in funding available. A sizable number of these applications are now being processed in the new fiscal year. See the article to the right for more context.
In the month of June alone,
the RAFT team allocated
more than $1 million
for families and individuals in need, a monthly record.
Households may apply for either RAFT or the new Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA) program (see the article to the right) using a single application, and now in certain situations up to $10,000 may be available per family. Visit
our website
for more information or go directly to the
application
.
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METRO HOUSING PARTNERS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR RENT RELIEF PROGRAMS
With the increase in demand for rental assistance throughout our region due to the current health crisis, Metro Housing has launched partnerships with various organizations and municipalities to increase access to emergency rental relief programs. Knowing that a program needs to be accessible and available for it to be helpful, these partnerships will allow us to serve more families experiencing housing instability.
The non-profit organizations currently partnering with Metro Housing:
Municipalities partnering with Metro Housing to administer local rent relief funds include:
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ERMA EXPANDS OPTIONS FOR THOSE IN CRISIS
As mentioned in the RAFT article to the left, Metro Housing and other regional housing organizations across the state are now helping families impacted by COVID-19 by providing rent and mortgage assistance through the new state program for FY21 known as Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA).
Since the launch of ERMA on July 1,
Metro Housing has received more than 1,600 applications for rental assistance via RAFT and ERMA combined!
The ERMA program builds upon RAFT that Metro Housing administers in 29 greater Boston communities. This funding expands eligibility to households with income of 80 percent of the area median, which for a family of three in greater Boston is $86,650. Program staff members expect households with mortgages to participate in this program to a larger extent than with RAFT because homeowners typically have higher incomes in a region with such high housing costs.
The program has been allocated
$20 million statewide for rent and mortgage relief through June 2021
.
If someone you know is facing housing instability and may benefit from
SNOMass LAUNCHES TO INCREASE HOUSING CHOICE
Metro Housing is pleased to be administering a new voluntary state program that will put the choice back into the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Now in the process of launching in Greater Boston, Supporting Neighborhood Opportunity in Massachusetts
(SNOMass)
is an option for families in communities throughout Greater Boston. Families with young school-aged children who have a Housing Choice Voucher administered by Metro Housing will be given the opportunity to move to a community of their choice.
Alexa Shabecoff, Metro Housing's Manager of SNOMass, has been conducting outreach to Metro Housing property owners in each of the 26 communities eligible to host SNOMass participants. She recently hired Michael Black (formerly of the Housing Supports department) as Mobility Specialist.
Although the current health crisis has delayed the implementation of the program, it hopes to begin outreach to residents in September. Stay tuned for more details.
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STATE POLICY UPDATE
Massachusetts Increases &
Expands Rental Assistance
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Governor Baker recently extended the eviction and foreclosure moratorium originally due to expire in mid-August. The legislature also recently passed and Governor Baker signed an FY20 supplemental budget adding $20 million for rent relief to RAFT, and increasing the per-household limit for some families from $4,000 to $10,000. This legislation also provides an increase in funding to expand Metro Housing’s outreach efforts throughout the region through our Housing Hub, also known as the Housing Consumer Education Center (HCEC).
With the
60-day extension of the moratorium
, households in crisis due to COVID-19 have until mid-October to either access emergency funds – like RAFT and ERMA – to help pay rent or to catch up on rent they were not able to pay due to the health crisis.
Rent relief programs like RAFT and ERMA, as well as the local programs in Boston, Braintree, Milton, and Revere that Metro Housing is administering, help households who cannot make rent, and also help property owners who often rely on rent to pay the mortgage and expenses of their own homes.
Metro Housing and our homelessness prevention and affordable housing partners across the state have been avid supporters of an eviction moratorium extension. We also continue to advocate for additional policies (like
Right to Counsel
) because we know these will help alleviate housing instability for thousands of families.
For more information about this legislation or other COVID related news, check our
COVID webpage
.
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Metro Housing Operational Update
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As Metro Housing continues to adapt to the public health guidance from state and local officials, we want to remind everyone that Metro Housing’s lobby remains closed to the public.
The lobby of the Metro Housing offices at 1411 Tremont Street can be a very high traffic area. For the safety of our program participants and staff, the majority of our Metro Housing staff members are continuing to work remotely.
Nevertheless, we remain ready to help families in need of our services. We are doing this electronically, by mail, and the foyer to our lobby is open to drop off documents and materials for those who do not have access to the internet. Additionally, our staff members are monitoring and responding to messages to ensure that issues are addressed as quickly as possible.
Contact information
If you know someone who has a rental voucher with Metro Housing, or are a property owner with a Metro Housing tenant, please contact the Leased Housing Gateway.
If you know someone who needs general housing advice, supportive services, or emergency rent relief for issues such as rent arrears or a utility shut off, please contact the Housing Hub.
ResourceLine@MetroHousingBoston.org
For the latest updates, continue to check our
website
.
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RENTERS WITH SECTION 8 VOUCHERS FACE HIGHER LEVELS OF DISCRIMINATION
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People with Section 8 rental vouchers in Greater Boston face higher levels of discrimination than people without vouchers according to a
new study
released on July 1 by the Housing Discrimination Testing Program (HDTP) at Suffolk University Law School, Analysis Group, and the Boston Foundation. The study also revealed that many landlords and real estate brokers discriminate against Black renters, whether they have a voucher or not.
Barbara Chandler
, Senior Advisor on Civil Rights and Fair Housing at Metro Housing, served as a consultant to the research teams and assisted in the design of the testing used for the study.
The study confirmed what Metro Housing’s participants and employees know first-hand. Voucher holders are shown fewer apartments and given fewer options than tenants paying market rate, even when rental assistance will pay the rent being requested by the owner.
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THANK YOU TEAM METRO HOUSING
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The six members of Team Metro Housing never envisioned that their dream of running in the 124th Boston Marathon would end before it ever began. That is what life in 2020 has become: adapting to obstacles that we never thought we would need to overcome.
Though the 2020 Boston Marathon was cancelled, we want to acknowledge the hard work put in by all team members (clockwise from upper left):
Cate Henning; Ray Garcia; Rachel Lodi; Ruben Garcia; Hector Cruz; and Kate Keaney.
The team spent many months training, often in unfavorable weather conditions. In addition to their road work, the team raised thousands of dollars as part of their commitment to Team Metro Housing and the John Hancock Marathon Non-Profit Program.
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Metro Housing wishes to thank Team Metro Housing sponsors for their generous support this year. Thank you to:
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• Anonymous Matching Gift Sponsor
• Anonymous
• Trip Advisor
• Maloney Properties
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• Platinum Protection Systems
• Progressive Electrical Systems
• Mark Beauchamp
• Lawrence Berman
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Wednesday, November 4, 2020
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Metro Housing|Boston is pleased to announce the Champions of Housing Celebration, November 4, 2020, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Boch Center – Wang Theatre. For the first time ever, the event will also be presented
VIRTUALLY. Please join event co-chairs
Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities LLC, and
Jerry Rappaport Jr., CEO of New Boston Fund, to celebrate our honorees.
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Edward E. Zuker
Founder and CEO,
Chestnut Hill Realty
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Boston Medical Center
Accepted by Kate Walsh, CEO (L) and
Dr. Megan Sandel, Co-Director at the Grow Clinic (R)
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Trevor Samios
V.P. of Resident Services & Customer Experience,
WinnResidential
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Katherine Martinez
Executive Director,
Lena Park Community Development Corporation
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Metro Housing|Boston
Phone
:
617.859.0400
Toll-Free:
800.272.0990
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