by Jenna Connolly | Nov 6, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) opened applications for its new Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy, a six-month fellowship designed to empower local officials with the knowledge, skills, and network to create more homes for people of all ages, incomes, and abilities in their communities. With a housing shortage of 222,000 new homes needed by 2035 and local decision-making determining much of the Commonwealth’s development, strengthening the voices of pro-housing municipal leaders will benefit Massachusetts’ communities, people, and economy.
“When we work towards creating more housing in every city and town, teachers, nurses, and firefighters can afford to live near their workplace. People can downsize in the communities they love. College graduates can come home,” said Rachel Heller, CHAPA’s chief executive officer. “The Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy will prepare local leaders to meet the housing needs of all members of their communities so everyone can thrive.”
CHAPA’s Academy is free and open to: Mayors, City and Town Councilors, Planning and Select Board Members, Finance Committee members, and any members of boards and commissions who can impact housing. The Academy’s curriculum will cover the history and causes of the Commonwealth’s housing shortage, municipal solutions, and strategies for taking those solutions from idea to implementation. Fellows will benefit from monthly virtual workshops with housing experts, monthly cohort meetings, and more.
The Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy builds upon CHAPA’s proven community engagement model. CHAPA’s Municipal Engagement Initiative, a program supporting local pro-housing coalition-building, has worked in 45 communities since 2018 with groups like Engine 6 in Newton and the Greater Newburyport Housing Choice Coalition. In 2023, CHAPA expanded its reach to offer free technical assistance and community engagement to planners seeking compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. 97% of the 85 communities CHAPA supported have now achieved compliance.
“Proactive, inclusive, and informed community engagement can move the needle on creating more housing opportunities,” said Lily Linke, CHAPA’s director of municipal engagement. “From the Cape to the Berkshires, there are countless elected and appointed local officials who are dedicated to solving their communities’ housing challenges, and the Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy can provide them with the tools they need to succeed.”
The first fellowship of the Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy will run from January to June 2026. Those interested in the Academy can apply or nominate an official in their community at bit.ly/MAHousingLeadershipAcademy until December 15, 2025.
by Jenna Connolly | Aug 5, 2025 | Housing News
On July 24th, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) on homelessness that trades effective solutions for fear-based politics. Casting the unhoused as “public safety threats,” the EO sidelines proven Housing First strategies in favor of punitive measures, like homeless sweeps and prosecution, that displace rather than house. This kind of crackdown will only serve to create more barriers to housing, not fewer.
The Massachusetts Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition (the “Coalition”) believes that everyone in Massachusetts deserves access to a safe and affordable home in the community of their choice. That is especially true for our neighbors experiencing homelessness who have the most to gain from stable, long-term housing. Overwhelming evidence shows that supportive housing is the most effective way to help this population. Supportive housing combines the Housing First strategy—which prioritizes fast, affordable, and permanent housing placement for those experiencing homelessness—with ongoing, person-centered services to increase well-being and improve housing stability.
Rising housing costs across the country continue to make affordable housing out of reach for millions and have contributed to record-high homelessness. To combat these issues, elected officials should be championing evidence-based solutions like supportive housing. Instead, the EO does the opposite and undermines state-level Housing First programs by directing the Executive Branch to “end[] support for ‘housing first’ policies.”
This directive could have disastrous consequences in Massachusetts. Not only is the Commonwealth already grappling with an affordable housing shortage, but recent social safety net cuts and changes to Medicaid and SNAP will soon inflict serious financial harm on the poorest Bay Staters. Under these conditions, any reduction in federal funding for supportive housing will hinder our best homelessness interventions, exacerbating and prolonging housing instability for countless Massachusetts individuals and families.
Contrary to the EO’s messaging, the unhoused are both less likely than housed people to commit violent crime, and more likely to be the victims of violence than to perpetrate it. And while many within the unhoused population struggle with drug use and mental health, research reveals that a third live with a serious mental illness and that 20-35% suffer from substance abuse issues. Far from overwhelming numbers.
False narratives about homeless people incite fear and dehumanization. And yet the EO relies on those narratives to justify its support for harsh and punitive tactics. Among its other directives, the EO instructs federal agencies to:
- Prioritize federal funding for jurisdictions that “enforce prohibitions” on things like “urban camping and loitering;” and
- Maximize involuntary civil commitment as a response to homelessness.
Encampment sweeps and other policies that criminalize survival activities may temporarily remove homeless people from sight, but they negatively impact health outcomes and can exacerbate homelessness in the long term. Involuntary commitments suffer from similar drawbacks. Jurisdictions that have studied forced hospitalization have found that it often fails the first time. And mental health professionals have explained that the practice is liable to cause serious trauma and do more harm than good, while providing no guarantee of housing, treatment, or recovery support services after discharge.
Even more fundamentally, these interventions do nothing to mitigate the primary structural driver of homelessness: a widespread lack of affordable housing.
The Coalition, which represents over 80 diverse organizations working in housing production, healthcare, and homelessness, has built a strong network of Commonwealth leaders and stakeholders committed to advancing the housing solutions we know work. Together, our impactful advocacy has already helped create new tools like the Supportive Housing Pool Fund, as well as three state commissions focused on affordable housing. The Coalition is committed to fostering a Massachusetts where homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time. And it will push back against any policy that impedes that goal, including the EO.
To make progress on homelessness, we must reject fear-based narratives and focus on strategies grounded in data and human dignity. That means restoring federal support for the Housing First approach and ending punitive policies that inflict damage without lasting results. There is still time to reverse the course charted in this EO, and the Coalition implores federal officials to do so immediately. Now is the time to focus on the future we want to see for Massachusetts—one where everyone has the support they need to thrive.
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH)
Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA)
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
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The Massachusetts Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition is a diverse coalition of more than 80 nonprofit and for-profit developers, healthcare companies, service providers, policy organizations, and advocates working to scale supportive housing options and ensure those with the most to gain from a home have what they need to heal and thrive. To learn more, please visit masupportivehousingcoalition.org.
by Jenna Connolly | Jul 17, 2025 | Press
by Jenna Connolly | Jul 17, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
On Tuesday, July 14, Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued a legal advisory informing MBTA Communities of the next steps her office will take to enforce the MBTA Communities Act. Although the final regulatory deadline to adopt compliant zoning has now passed, the Attorney General will defer litigation against non-compliant communities until January 1, 2026. This measured approach provides communities with additional time to complete the local processes required to adopt zoning bylaws by the end of 2025. Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) commends the Attorney General for her commitment to enforcing this essential housing law.
“The MBTA Communities Act is an essential tool for creating the homes that people, our communities, and our economy need to thrive,” said Rachel Heller, CHAPA’s chief executive officer. “We applaud Attorney General Campbell for her commitment to enforcing state housing laws so that all people have opportunities to find homes they can afford in communities they choose. We hope that communities utilize the many resources available to implement the law, including CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program.”
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ (“HLC”) original MBTA Communities Act regulations required MBTA Communities with, or adjacent to, commuter rail stations to adopt compliant multifamily zoning districts by the end of 2024. The deadline was extended to July 14, 2025. As of today, 15 communities have missed that deadline and will immediately lose eligibility for most competitive state grant funding.
Although MBTA Communities have had nearly five years to create and implement multifamily zoning plans, a period in which 139 communities—the majority—have successfully complied, CHAPA recognizes the utility of providing more time to municipalities that have struggled to implement the law. Given the amount of inflammatory rhetoric surrounding this law, the Attorney General’s advisory turns down the temperature and political pressure and serves as a gesture of goodwill, encouraging residents to design multifamily zoning districts that meet their community’s unique housing needs.
“CHAPA has worked with planners from over 80 municipalities to educate residents about the MBTA Communities Act and all but four of those communities ultimately chose to adopt multifamily zoning districts,” said Will Rhatigan, CHAPA’s MBTA Communities engagement manager. “We’re confident that every municipality can find a multifamily zoning district that satisfies their residents, and we’re ready to offer our cost-free technical assistance with community engagement to any municipality that seeks to reach compliance with the MBTA Communities Act by the end of this year.”
Communities interested in participating in CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program for community engagement can reach out to Will Rhatigan at [email protected].
by Jenna Connolly | Jul 7, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
On June 30th, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) added Jacob Love to their growing team as general counsel for policy. In this new role, Jacob will work with CHAPA’s policy team to shape and implement CHAPA’s policy agenda, advise on legislative initiatives, draft and analyze legislation and amicus briefs, and represent the organization in high-impact advocacy efforts. Jacob’s work as general counsel for policy will complement the ongoing work of CHAPA’s current policy team, including director of state and federal advocacy, Matt Noyes, and senior policy associate, Jordan Stocker.
“I am thrilled to be joining CHAPA at this pivotal moment in the fight for housing justice,” said Love on this new role. “From expanding inclusionary zoning, to spurring housing production, it will be no small task to forge a Massachusetts that is truly fair and affordable for everyone. But I am ready for the challenge, and excited to tackle it alongside CHAPA’s already formidable team.”
Jacob draws on a wealth of experience from his five-plus years as a fair housing attorney. He cut his teeth at the Legal Aid Society in New York City, where he represented low-income tenant associations seeking improved housing conditions and worked with community groups to preserve affordable housing. More recently, Jacob spent three years at Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) in Boston, building and litigating impact cases to combat housing discrimination and reduce housing costs. His efforts at LCR earned him the Boston Bar Association’s “President’s Award” in 2023.
Jacob received his J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from Boston College Law School and holds a B.A. in political science from the College of the Holy Cross. Immediately after law school, Jacob also served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Eric Neyman of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Hon. George Z. Singal of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.
