A result of more than a year of engagement with stakeholders and the work of the Housing Advisory Committee, Governor Healey released A Home for Everyone: Massachusetts’ Statewide Housing Plan on February 6. A priority for CHAPA, the Affordable Homes Act included a requirement that the Commonwealth develop a statewide housing plan every five years. The Healey-Driscoll Administration launched this process in October 2023 following the filing of the Housing Bond Bill.
The new plan outlines the housing challenges facing Massachusetts, identifies current unmet housing needs, sets goals for production and preservation, and proposes strategies to address the situation. This publication will be followed by others, including expanded needs assessments and strategies.
CHAPA joined the other leaders of the Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition, a coalition of more than 80 member organizations dedicated to creating the supportive housing needed to address chronic and high-need homelessness, in issuing a statement in support of A Home for Everyone.
Here is the quote from CHAPA CEO Rachel Heller included in the statement:
“The solution to homelessness is housing that is affordable and housing that provides supportive services. We applaud the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Housing Plan, which sets the Commonwealth on a path to create and preserve the homes needed to reduce and prevent homelessness, expand housing that is accessible for people with disabilities, and provide opportunities for everyone to have safe and healthy homes they can afford in the communities they choose. This plan identifies strategies for creating the diversity of housing needed to meet our wide ranging needs, including supportive housing, public housing, and deeply affordable housing.”