Dear Friends,
Summer is a season of growth, and at WCHR, we are seeing the results of years of planning, partnership, and persistence begin to take shape.
This spring marked an important milestone as we broke ground on our Seeds of Hope tiny homes project at 6 Claremont Street. What began as an idea among community leaders several years ago is now becoming a reality, creating four new homes for unhoused older adults. We are also excited to share that WCHR has been awarded more than $6 million in state funding for a different project to create subsidized units of permanent supportive housing. Together, these projects represent how partnership and investment can create community impact, and we are deeply grateful to the many partners, funders, and supporters helping make them possible.
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Thank you for your continued support of WCHR and our mission. Together, we are creating new opportunities for individuals and families to find stability, dignity, and a place to call home.
Best regards,
N. Paul TonThat
Executive Director
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Tiny Homes for Seniors
In May, our Seeds of Hope tiny homes pilot project broke ground at 6 Claremont Street and the site work is well underway. We gathered at the site with supporters and community champions to celebrate this unique opportunity to provide four modular homes to older adults, the fastest growing segment of the unhoused population in Worcester. In addition to housing, this demonstration project will have built-in services for its residents, provided by Open Sky Community Services, including wellness programs, healthcare coordination and preventive care, case management, and more. This project would not have been possible without our partners.
We are so grateful that Tim Garvin, CEO of United Way of Central Massachusetts, Harriette Chandler, Senate President Emerita, and Dr. Mattie Castiel, former Worcester Health and Human Services Commissioner, dreamed up the idea several years ago and brought us in as partners. We could not have gotten to this point without our funders at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Worcester Affordable Housing Trust, United Way of Central Massachusetts, our team of pro bono experts Architect Sean Brennan of Lamoureux Pagano Associates, Clerk of the Works and Architect Larry Haley, Engineer Mike Andrade of Graves Engineering, and Attorney Todd Rodman of Seder Law, and all of our private donors. And we are so thankful for Integrity Modular Design and Construction, the Worcester-based company that will be building these modular homes.
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WCHR Receives State Funding for Supportive Housing
We are proud to announce that we are one of 11 awardees who received funding from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) to build supportive housing in the community. Our Oriol Drive property will be converted into 40 units of subsidized permanent supportive housing, and the $6,041,971 award from HLC will help us continue to move this project forward. Permanent Supportive Housing, which is affordable housing with supportive services built in, is incredibly effective. In Worcester specifically, 95% of residents who live in permanent supportive housing and receive these services are still housed 1 year later. Stay tuned for updates on this project!
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Family Fun Day Coming Up on June 30!
We are getting excited for our first ever Family Fun Day! On June 30, we’ll invite our residents to come out for a day of fun at our King Street property. We’ll have a bouncy house, ice cream truck, pizza, and more. As one of our first resident services events, our goal is to engage with our families, build stronger connections with our tenants, and provide a time for residents to connect with one another. This event will bring together tenants across all our family sites - we can’t wait to see everyone!
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Welcome, Fiona!
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our summer intern, Fiona Walsh! Fiona is a rising pre-law senior at Mount Holyoke College studying Politics. She lives in Rutland, Massachusetts and in her free time, she enjoys running, listening to music, playing cards, and competing on the mock trial team. She’ll be interning in the lending department as a 2026 Yale Law School Liman Summer Undergraduate Fellow. Fiona aspires to become a lawyer and work in the field of public interest law. In her own words, Fiona wanted to intern at WCHR because “I have come to recognize housing as one of the most pressing issues affecting individuals, especially those who are low to moderate income. As a Worcester native and a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, it was especially important to me that the organization I would be working for positively impacts my home community.” We are excited to have her aboard at WCHR and WCHR Securities.
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