FOCUS on Housing

Family-Led Stability Pilot

A collaborative of four nonprofit organizations and five public sector partners launched the Family-Led Stability Pilot (FLSP) program to address the growing challenge of youth homelessness in Boston schools and demonstrate the positive impact of stable housing on educational outcomes.

The initial collaboration included Boston Public Schools (BPS), Boston’s Education Cabinet, Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), Boston Housing Authority (BHA), City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, Project Hope, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), New Lease for Homeless Families and Boston’s Higher Ground. As the pilot continues, new partners are joining these efforts to house families with students in our four partner schools in BPS.

Objectives of Pilot

When we launched the pilot in January 2018, we proposed three objectives:

Improve the identification of vulnerable students and families in schools.
Prioritize families according to need and match them to housing opportunities in the community.
Provide two-generation support to both students and their caregivers.

While FLSP partner organizations are collectively targeting seven schools for this initiative, Higher Ground currently serves and is partnering with four of the seven schools in Roxbury and Dorchester: Higginson Elementary School, Higginson-Lewis K-8 School, David A. Ellis Elementary School, and the William Monroe Trotter K-8 School.

We have established strong partnerships with the principals, staff and various organizations to help identify and house families experiencing homelessness. We continue to work towards identifying students in the schools and connecting their families to housing resources.

GOAL:

House all homeless families and students in 7 target schools by end of 2019-2020 School Year

As of December 2020, 143 families housed with 232 students in 7 target schools,

which represents about 78% of homeless students in 7 target schools

Mossik Hacobian presenting on behalf of the Family-Led Stability Pilot at Boston Children's Community Health Showcase 11/14/19

If you have questions about the Family-Led Stability Pilot, please contact Brandon Lopez at brandon@higherground-boston.org

Address

Contact

384 Warren St, Roxbury, MA 02119, USA

Supporting Boston's children and families to reach for their potential!

Watch the recorded video from our virtual 10th Anniversary Celebration held on April 27, 2021