Heading Home

MISSION: To end homelessness in Greater Boston by providing housing in conjunction with effective support services to help change the conditions that create homelessness. DESCRIPTION: Heading Home’s personalized attention to the issue of homelessness started in 1974 when a small group of concerned Cambridge citizens rented a room in Central Square to provide a bed and a meal to four men each night. The same attentiveness to individuals exists over 30 years later, but the resources are greater, the solutions are smarter and the results are long lasting. Heading Home focuses on a model of providing affordable housing to families and individuals as quickly as possible, along with intensive support services, to end homelessness. By creating small housing programs with a ratio of one case manager per 10 individuals and/or families, everybody receives the intensity of service they need to remain housed and pursue their life goals. The programs focus on smaller home-like settings with individualized attention in the communities of Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Malden, Medford, Everett and Quincy. Heading Home’s strategic plan set the following priorities: Expand services to individuals and families regardless of public funding priorities; focus emphasis on creating permanent housing for both individuals and families; and increase private fundraising to meet goals.