WHAT CAN I DO?

1. Immediately send a letter to your State Senator and Representative urging them to fight for necessary funding for the Department of Mental Health Rental Subsidy Program (DMHRSP). If possible, include your personal or professional story. See the Template Letter button



2. Send your personal or professional story to Youth MOVE Massachusetts to help with our advocacy efforts. See the Guiding Questions Form button

3. If you need support in sharing your story, register for YMM’s virtual March 6th letter-writing workshop! See the Letter-Writing Workshop button

Find your legislators HERE

Learn more about the DMHRSP cuts:

• What is DMHRSP?
• Until recently, people with DMH services were eligible for the Department of Mental Health Rental Subsidy Program (DMHRSP). This program offered housing vouchers to DMH clients. A housing voucher is like a coupon that helps cover the cost of rent. The DMH client would typically pay 1/3 of their monthly income, and the voucher would cover the rest of the rent.
• The DMHRSP uses two main types of vouchers:
• Sponsor-based vouchers: A service provider (Sponsor) is awarded the voucher, leases a unit from the property owner, and then places eligible DMH clients into that unit.
• Tenant-based vouchers: The voucher is given directly to the client (who has DMH case management services), and the client searches for housing themselves and signs the lease directly with the property owner.
• DMHRSP was effectively paused as of July 8th, 2025
• The pause prohibits the backfilling of vacated units and leads to the termination of leases.
• If a client did not already have a lease signed before the abrupt cut in July, they will no longer have the option to receive a voucher. 
• According to DMH, as of the cuts in July, the DMHRSP was supporting about 2,600 leased units.