History

HOW WE BEGAN

Our 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 more than 30 years later, but the resources are greater, the solutions are smarter and the results are long lasting.

MILESTONES – EVOLUTION OF HEADING HOME (Founded as Shelter, Inc.)

1972
Community volunteers rent room in Central Square for homeless individuals.

1974 
The Organization  incorporates and receives its non-profit designation.

1979
Cambridge Shelter on School Street opens; first facility for homeless people in Cambridge.

1981
United Way of Mass. Bay selects our organization as first homeless services agency to be awarded affiliation status.

1983
Boston Family Shelter opens, in response to growing numbers of families seeking shelter at our Cambridge site.  This was the first family shelter to open in Massachusetts.

1987 
The Organization is instrumental in planning for City of Cambridge’s Multi-Service Center, bringing multiple homeless services together in a single location.

1989
Medford Family Life Education Center opens, responding to need for longer stays to stabilize families, build skills and focus on child development.

1991
Women’s Drop-In Program opens in Cambridge in response to women shelter guests’ needs for day programming; first such program in Cambridge.

1994
Putnam Place, our first program involving permanent housing opens; created in collaboration with Cambridge Housing Authority and Just-A-Start CDC.

1995
Boston Family Shelter dedicates half of its rooms for use by homeless families not eligible for State-funded services.  These 4 units bring the total number available across Mass. for non-EA-eligible families to 44.

1996
Common Ground, HUD-funded transitional housing for 5 homeless women with mental health and/or substance abuse issues, opens in Cambridge.  This increases the number of transitional slots for women in Cambridge by 50%.

1998
Family Self-Sufficiency Program opens at Roosevelt Towers, providing job-related services and referrals to 20 families in public housing, operated under contract with Cambridge Housing Authority.

Community Legal Assistance Services Project (CLASP) offers free legal assistance using students and volunteer attorneys, in Cambridge sites frequented by homeless people.

1999
Shelter Plus Care Program provides community-based support services to disabled homeless individuals living in their own homes.  Funded in part by MA Department of Public Health.

Resident Services for the Cambridge YMCA offers services to approximately 55 men, many formerly homeless, living in SRO units at Central Square YMCA.

2000
Mid-Point provides traditional housing and case management to homeless families with ties to Cambridge.  Participants will have the option of remaining in their units as primary leaseholders.  HUD-funded collaboration with the Cambridge Housing Authority.

2001
Quincy Family Housing provides affordable permanent housing with services to 4 families with substance abuse problems.  HUD-funded collaboration with Quincy Neighborhood Housing Services.

2002
Shelter Plus Care Program expands into the Tri-City area of Medford, Malden and Everett.
Project Connect expands and opens VoiceNet Connect, an office environment for homeless/low income people, offering use of computer workstations, printers, a copier, fax machine and phones.

2003
The Stan Kaszanek House opens providing transitional housing and case management services to 11 individuals from the Malden, Medford and Everett area.  Located in Malden, it is a HUD-funded collaboration with Tri-CAP.

The McKay House opens for 9 individual men at a restored home on Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge.  The program provides permanent, affordable housing for men with disabilities.

2004
Homeless to Housing begins offering permanent housing with supportive services to 15 disabled, chronically homeless individuals in scattered-site apartments.  The program is a HUD-funded collaboration with Tri-City Family Housing, which will provide permanent housing and services to families with disabled head of household.

2005 through 2008
The Organization purchases new property on Concord Avenue in Cambridge to create 13 new units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless women.

The Organization finalizes an aggressive new strategic plan – calling for the development of 170 units of permanent supported housing for both families and individuals.

2008
The name "Shelter, Inc." is retired and replaced with the name "Heading Home" to more accurately reflect our recent past and our future.

2009                                                                                                                                        The Heading Home Partnership to End Family Homelessness is established.  The program leverages state funds with private donations to provide a supported pathway to housing, job training, employment and asset development for homeless families.