NOAH NEWS

MISSION: NOAH, a community development corporation, promotes equity,

community cohesion, environmental justice and economic resiliency. We increase

access to affordable housing, create social and economic opportunities,

and empower residents to be leaders of change.

COMMUNITY BUILDING & ENVIRONMENT

NOAH Youth Organizers (N-YO)

The bilingual NOAH Youth Leadership Development program offers East Boston teens the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and gain experiential knowledge as they manage and spearhead numerous community activities that address negative socioeconomic and environmental issues within their own neighborhood. The Youth are continuing their air filter project, in which they address East Boston's poor air quality by building and distributing free air purifiers. Their Clean Air initiative also includes working with our partners on community focused education events and air quality data tracking using sensors. The NOAH Youth recently collaborated with local partner organization, Mothers Out Front, to host two successful 'Do It Yourself" air purifier building workshops in East Boston (pictured right). 

NOAH's air quality sensor on Gladstone Street is part of the Healthy Air Network, providing real-time insights on air quality across Massachusetts. Click here to view a map of current air quality conditions. When you do so, each circle on the map represents a monitoring site, changing color based on air quality. Tap on any circle to learn more about the specific site and find tips on staying safe when air quality levels fluctuate. The network tracks fine particles from sources like vehicles and factories that can impact health. High levels can negatively affect visibility and well-being.

The graph above shows East Boston's elevated 2024 daily mean of PM2.5 levels (particulate

matter in the air which is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) as compared to healthier

levels in Chelsea and Chinatown.

Summer Programming

Over the summer, NOAH’s youth organizers will be helping to coordinate and host free bilingual activities and events for the community throughout East Boston, while continuing to maintain the neighborhood's new tree canopy plantings. The children's soccer program becomes more popular each year and continues to bring young neighborhood residents together for important community-building and physical activity while helping to preserve one of East Boston’s limited green spaces, American Legion Field. The youth are planning to continue the 'Learn to Kayak and Boating Safety' program at Constitution Beach again this summer.

In support of NOAH's annual 'Learn to Kayak and Boating Safety', NOAH Executive Director, Philip Giffee, took the plunge at Save the Harbor's Shamrock Splash event at Constitution Beach. Participants in the annual polar plunge take a splash into the Boston Harbor's chilly March waters to raise money for the wonderful Better Beaches program. Water temperatures were recorded at 38 degrees and the air temperature was 15 degrees! Phil was able to raise over $1,000 from 20 donors. NOAH's kayaking program, also at Constitution Beach, is open to everyone. Each year, we welcome over one thousand participants, enabling free access to the East Boston waterfront and recreational activities each summer.

A big thanks to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and everyone who donated and cheered Phil on! Generous support from organizations and individuals remains critical to helping keep NOAH's free program going. If you would like to make a donation to support NOAH's programing, please check out the Donations Page of our website.

English for Speakers of Other Languages

NOAH’s ESOL program helps new Bostonians learn, improve, and practice their use of the written and oral English language in a comfortable, communal environment, and encourages engagement in building a stronger community. The current semester of full classes returned in January, with four groups at Level Low, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

NOAH educates between 100-150 individuals annually though ESOL-related programing. NOAH is very proud of its dedicated instructors, current attendees and all our past graduates!

If you are interested in NOAH's English for Other Languages classes or want to find out more about any of NOAH’s related programing, please contact Manlio Mendez at mmendez@noahcdc.org or 617- 418-8242.

Join NOAH on Saturday April 12th for the Love Your Block community clean up! Love Your Block is an annual citywide beautification event sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Civic Organizing. This year NOAH is looking for volunteers to help us at two East Boston locations: the Our Garden Community Garden at 293 Border Street and the Urban Wild at 300 Condor Street. If you would like to volunteer or learn more, please contact Manlio Mendez at mmendez@noahcdc.org, or text 857-318-2715.

On May 17th, NOAH and members of the N-YO Youth Leadership Development program will be hosting the Youth 'IspirArt' art contest and exhibition at the East Boston Library. East Boston students will be showcasing various styles of artwork from paintings to photography. For more information please reach out to the NOAH Youth Leaders at noahyouth@noahcdc.org or Manlio Mendez at mmendez@noahcdc.org.

NOAH’s Rental Homelessness Prevention and Emergency Housing Assistance programming, largely funded by the City of Boston, helps residents maintain or obtain their apartments and avoid or mitigate homelessness. This programming assists those who are newly homeless to obtain shelter or a new apartment, especially fire, flood and other emergency victims, as well as working to prevent evictions 'up-stream'. In 2024, 350 households were served via these service lines. These efforts are part of our commitment to low- and moderate-income Boston residents in need of support related to accessing affordable housing opportunities locally. Pictured left: Andre Coco, Lead EHAP Case Manager.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and to Chief of Housing and Director of the Mayor's Office of Housing, Sheila Dillon for the much-needed funding of this programming!

Financial Capability

NOAH offers free bilingual financial capability programming including individual coaching for those who need assistance with managing their finances. NOAH's Financial Capability initiative operates on an ongoing basis designed to give participants the knowledge, skills, and tools to feel confident in their financial decision-making skills. Make a plan to reach your financial goals, manage your spending and improve your credit! To learn more or sign up, please contact Thais Gandica, NOAH's Financial Services Counselor, at 617- 418-8263 or email thaisg@noahcdc.org

First-Time Homebuyers

NOAH's First-Time Homebuyers (FTHB) classes cover everything one might need to know about buying a first home, including addressing unique challenges presented by rising home costs and the current economy. NOAH annually offers 15 or more CHAPA-certified FTHB Zoom workshops as well as an on-demand online course – both in Spanish and in English. To view upcoming FTHB class dates and learn more about registering please scroll down to the 'Upcoming Events' section of our newsletter. If you would like to learn more, please contact Carolina Suarez at 617-418-8261 or suarez@noahcdc.org.

Foreclosure Prevention

NOAH's Foreclosure Prevention Program has a focus on assisting consumers who are in imminent default and so in danger of losing their homes, and offers homeowners help in understanding their options and determining the best and most affordable solutions based on their own personal financial situations. ​Our HUD-approved counselors meet with clients one-on-one to develop an action plan based on individual needs, create budgets, work to obtain loan modifications whenever possible, contact lenders to advocate for homeowners, and more. All programming is offered in English and Spanish - with other languages also available with translation services - and is free of charge. If you or someone you know has received a petition for foreclosure, please contact Carlos Grajales-Thrall, NOAH's Foreclosure Prevention Counselor, at 617-418-8268 or cgrajalest@noahcdc.org.

NOAH has been offering bilingual first-time homebuyer education and counseling programming on an ongoing basis since 1992. In that time, NOAH has helped over 2,650 families purchase their first home, at a total dollar production exceeding $178.7 million; and continues to serve up to 100 individuals though our Financial Literacy programming each year. Since 2008, NOAH has helped over 3,400 families retain their homes in the face of a potential foreclosure. In 2024, NOAH had 285 first-time homebuyer course graduates, with 56 families purchasing their first home, and served 86 individuals via Financial Literacy programming.

NOAH’s bilingual homebuyer services remain accessible over Zoom, and the staffers continue to have various bilingual virtual speakers from financial institutions and other companies to provide expert advice to first-time homebuyer course attendees. If you have any questions about the Homebuyer Services Department programming, please contact Director Diana Franco (pictured top right) at 617-418-8266 or dianaf@noahcdc.org.

SENIOR & DISABLED HOME REPAIR

NOAH’s Senior Repair Services has been helping vulnerable senior homeowners and residents remain safe and independent within their own homes for the past 37 years. We provide in-home counseling and directly perform free minor repairs, as well as facilitate no-cost rehabilitation projects and larger-scale emergency repair services, for some 65 income-eligible elderly and disabled homeowners each year. Long-term Program Manager, Anthony D'Andrea (pictured right) and Assistant Carpenter, Thomas Granara, together complete 350 repairs annually.

These are typically health- and safety-related services that make it possible for seniors living on fixed incomes to remain in their homes. Every job, regardless of size, is important to the elderly residents, who oftentimes have no other alternative. Free safety repairs include: installing bathroom grab-bars; replacing unsafe doors/locks, replacing broken windows, fixing leaks and faulty electrical switches/lights, patching roofs, replacing gutters/down spouts, and more.

Since 1987, NOAH has utilized this successful program to help over 4,000 elders remain safe by performing over 12,000 safety-related, emergency, and handicapped accessibility repairs. Please reach out to Anthony D'Andrea at 617-418-8265 for more information.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

NOAH's Property Management staff have been working hard to maintain and upgrade NOAH's properties and offices. NOAH owns 389 rental units & five commercial units in East Boston, Holliston, North Andover, Carlisle, Webster and Middleborough. Altogether, over 800 individuals reside in NOAH rental homes. If you have any questions, please contact propertymanagement@noahcdc.org.

We would like to extend a huge congratulations to NOAH's Director of Portfolio Operations Mal Nelson and his wife Natasha (pictured here at their recent baby shower) who welcomed baby Mason last week!

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Aileron: Aileron is a two-phase project located at 131 and 141-151 Condor Street in East Boston. Phase I consists of seven affordable, homeownership condos, with new owner move-in targeted for late spring 2025. NOAH hired a new General Contractor to finish up the project, which is now done and awaiting final inspections from the City. The seven buyers should be able to complete their purchases in April and move in as they are able. The City has invested significant dollars. Mass Housing has invested additional capital to enable all of the units to be sold to first-time affordable homebuyers. We are grateful. In addition, NOAH has financed this project with our own funds. Construction delays have cost NOAH time on the next phase of Aileron, the Artists' Rental, proposed to be 36 units of affordable, rental, artist-themed housing. This may take another two years to get into the pipeline. NOAH is currently talking with artist groups to see if there is an investment opportunity for them to rent the workshops on the ground level. More news in the future on that front.

EB Refi/PACO Properties: NOAH’s East Boston PACO Properties (55 units in 18 buildings) have been combined with our other East Boston affordable and workforce housing portfolio units (56 units in 17 buildings) to create a large single-entity rehab project. PACO was formed to tap into the City’s AOP anti-displacement program designed to protect Boston’s rental housing stock from high income, market and condo forces. AOP became a key NOAH priority, but at significant risk financially to NOAH itself. NOAH invested several million of our own capital to preserve these units. The City and the State now have each offered several million dollars to prevent a foreclosure by acquisition lenders, including Community Housing Capital, Blue Hub/LISC and Rockland Trust, which have been patiently waiting for the return of their $12M in capital. The buildings are located at various scattered sites throughout the neighborhood. Lenders are currently working out the complex details to refinance the mortgages with a closing expected in late spring of 2025.

Union Block: This project saw the redevelopment of the 1860s landmark Union Block building in Downtown Taunton at 17 Main Street overlooking the town green. Union Block is now fully leased! This $28M development created 38-units of mixed-income rental housing above the existing small businesses. This pre-Civil War historic preservation project is very important to the history of the City. This historic rehabilitation project also retained and preserved nine ground-floor small businesses and about 50 jobs. The Commonwealth has been very generous in providing additional capital to support the rehab of the structurally deficient property; and the City of Taunton has generously waived various and sundry fees while investing additional capital, as well. We are very grateful to everyone for their support!

Pictured below at Union Block: ED Phil Giffee; NOAH Board Chair David Bryant; and Real Estate Project Manager Annika Lambert.

NOAH would like to thank all those who supported and attended our 37th Annual Dinner in December of 2024. The wonderful evening served as an opportunity for NOAH to express its appreciation for local allies, volunteers, supporters, and residents as we celebrated the collaborative efforts that continue to make a positive impact across our community. Award-winning meteorologist and journalist, Cecy del Carmen, joined us as the featured guest speaker; del Carmen is a trusted voice in many communities across New England, and, in addition to her work in television and radio, is committed to neighborhood community development and climate resiliency.

NOAH's Executive Director, Philip Giffee, was recently recognized by Heading Home at their 50 Years of Milestones event as a honorary Changemaker. Heading Home is one of the Commonwealth's leading providers of emergency shelter, transitional, and permanent housing for children and adults currently or formerly experiencing homelessness. 

Phil was a founding member of Heading Home back in 1974. Pictured to the right are Phil along with his wife Nancy O'Hare.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS DONATIONS

Make the most your 2025 charitable donation with the impactful 50% Massachusetts Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program, which enables donors of $1,000 or more to double the power of their financial support!

Your donation will directly support us in enabling some of the area’s most vulnerable families and residents to obtain and retain safe and secure housing. Homelessness continues to be an exponentially growing problem which needs to be addressed desperately. The pandemic-era safety nets that kept many at-risk households afloat have ended, leaving an extreme need for affordable and emergency housing-related assistance, along with a tremendous gap in service delivery. Please help NOAH fill that gap.

If you choose to invest in our work, you can double your impact and get half of your entire donation back. Through CITC, even donors who do not have any tax liability are eligible to receive a 50% rebate; and donors who have a state tax liability can receive half of their donation to NOAH back in state tax credits. NOAH will reserve 50% tax credits for all donors of $1,000 or more, and will assist CITC donors in utilizing the fairly simple credit-claiming process.

CITC donations or contributions of any amount can be made by mailing a check to NOAH, 143 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128 or online at NOAH's website www.noahcdc.org on the Donations page! Please reach out to Linda Foster if you have any questions re CITCs at lmillerfoster@noahcdc.org.

NOAH would like to say THANK YOU to all our wonderful recent funders their support:

AAFCPAs, Adrian Madaro Committee, Applied Materials Foundation & Employees via Blackbaud Giving Fund, Better Beaches, Mr. & Mrs. David Blake, Blue Hub Capital, Bushrod Campbell & Adah Hall Charitable Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. David Bryant, The Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Cambridge Savings Foundation, Charles H. Farnsworth-Bank of America, N.A.,Trustee, Charlesbank Homes, Citizens Bank, The City of Boston, Edmund & Nina Coletta, John Connell, Susan Molloy Devins, Dimella Shaffer, Adam Dobson, Bob & Mirriam Dorfman, The East Boston Foundation, East Boston “K” Trust, Eastern Bank, English for New Bostonians, Rose Fiore, Philip & Marion Freehan, Hackett Feinberg P.C., Mossik Hacobian, HarborOne Bank, Harvard Memorial Church, Rick High & Anne Perkins, Joy Street Design, George & Carolyn Koehler, Susan Koffman & Tom Cooper, the Liberty Mutual Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the M&T Charitable Foundation, National Financial Services LLC, Needham Bank, NeighborShare, NeighborWorks America, O’Donoghue Insurance Agency, Pentecostal Tabernacle, Rockland Trust, Santander Bank N.A., Sailors’ Snug Harbor, Kristin & David Shapiro, Smolak & Vaughan LLP, United Way, Webster Bank, Wood/Perry Family Trust, and an anonymous donor.

NOAH would also like to extend a special thank you to: Amelia Peabody Charitable Foundation, the Cambridge Savings Bank, and the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation for their generous awards; in addition to the Liberty Mutual Foundation for its impactful award to our affordable housing preservation service line; and to the City of Boston, for all of its wonderful ongoing support!

And, as always, a great big THANK YOU to our fantastic long-time funding partners NeighborWorks America and United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley!

With our generous supporters, we are able to continue to create and maintain more sustainable neighborhoods, community services and affordable housing opportunities than ever before.

If you would like to make a donation, please reach out to Linda Foster at linda@noahcdc.org or 617-418-8246, or donate online on noahcdc.org/donate! 

NOAH would additionally like to thank those who have joined us to volunteer! Volunteer opportunities range from long-term law school and college interns and AmeriCorps volunteers to half-day project volunteers, such as working in our youth-led community garden or performing maintenance upkeep at Trinity House for the formerly homeless in East Boston, as well as first-time homebuyer education and financial capability workshops, and working on work-force preparation skills. We thank you all!

Make a BIG impact even with a SMALL Donation!

Please consider making a secure tax-deductible donation to

NOAH today. To donate online CLICK HERE.   

Please consider making a donation to NOAH today! There is a mounting crisis in the area of housing and shelter in Greater Boston. Over our 37-year history we have never seen anything like it. The numbers of families reaching out for housing assistance continue to grow exponentially. NOAH helped 6,000 individuals from over 2,950 families in 2024. Of these, over 1,750 households were housing-related clients - and over half of them were children. Your financial support at any level at this time can make a major difference in the lives of local residents struggling to retain or obtain their homes. Since 1987, NOAH has created investments totaling $656.3 million in the Greater Boston regional economy. Please help now if you can.

UPCOMING FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAMMING

Click Here to Register for an upcoming First-Time Homebuyer class or reach out to Carolina Suarez at 617-418-8261 for more information.

Upcoming FTHB Classes in English

Tuesday, April 15 - 5:30 to 9:45pm (Part 1)

Wednesday, April 16 - 5:30 to 9:45pm (Part 2)

Saturday, May 3 - 9:00am - 1:30pm (Part I)

Sunday, May 4 - 9:00am - 1:30pm (Part II)

Próximas Clases de Compradores de Vivienda por Primera Vez en Español

Sábado, April 5 (Part I) 9:00am - 1:30pm

Domingo, April 6 (Part II) 9:00am - 1:30pm

Martes 6 de Mayo (Part I) 5:30pm - 9:45pm

Miércoles 7 de Mayo (Part II) 5:30pm - 9:45pm

Martes, 10 de Junio (Part I)- 5:30pm - 9:45pm

Miércoles, 11 de Junio (Part II) - 5:30pm - 9:45pm

UPCOMING FINANCIAL EDUCATION CLASSES

(En Español) Tu Dinero, Tu Futuro: Claves para Ahorrar y Administrarte Mejor

Transforma tu relación con el dinero y comienza a construir un futuro más seguro. Apr 22 , 6:00pm

Tu Crédito, Tu Identidad: Aprende a Protegerlos

Aprende a cuidar tu crédito e identidad, prevenir fraudes y tomar decisiones seguras para proteger tu futuro financiero. Apr 29, 6:00pm

UPCOMING COMMUNITY BUILDING & ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMMING

Please reach out to Manlio Mendez, NOAH Senior Community Organizer, at 617-418-8242 or mmendez@noahcdc.org for more information on all NOAH's upcoming East Boston CBE programs.

Love Your Block Neighborhood Clean Up

'Our Garden" community garden at 293 Border Street and the Urban Wild at 300 Condor Street. Saturday, April 12 from 10am. Please contact Manlio Mendez if you would like to volunteer.

Bilingual Children's Soccer

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, July to August, from 3:30 to 6:00pm. Free and open to all East Boston children aged 6 to 12 years old. Please contact Manlio Mendez to register.

Youth 'IspirArt' Art Contest and Exhibition, East Boston Public Library, Saturday, May17th, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.