Representatives from the three winning organizations attended a prize breakfast last fall.
Monies were distributed. Technology build-out and support was delivered. Projects were evaluated on an ongoing basis. Social innovation training was provided. And now, the winning entries in the inaugural听Innovating with Families (IF) Challenge听are presenting the fruits of their labor.
Last fall, partner organizations the Boston College School of Social Work and the听United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley听presented IF Challenge awards to听HomeStart,听Children鈥檚 HealthWatch, and the听Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership听to identify innovative, cost-effective, and feasible ideas to reduce family homelessness in the state. In a meeting on June 15 at the United Way, they shared updates on their progress as their projects near completion.
鈥淭he winners of the IF Challenge exceeded expectations as they took their projects from idea to implementation,鈥� said听Stephanie Berzin, Co-Director of BCSSW鈥檚听Center for Social Innovation, who provided much of the incubation and guidance to each of the teams throughout the process. 鈥淲e have a chance to significantly change the course of family homelessness in Boston and the organizations that won the IF Challenge are an important part of that work.鈥�
鈥淲hen we selected the IF Challenge winners, we were seeking solutions to address family homelessness that were innovative, feasible and able to be scaled beyond one organization in order to have a greater potential impact,鈥� said听Michael K. Durkin, President at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. 鈥淔amily homelessness is a complex issue that no one organization can solve on its own.听 We鈥檙e proud of the partnerships we are growing and their potential to change the landscape of family homelessness in Massachusetts.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a brief description as to what each of the winners were able to accomplish:
HomeStart
HomeStart鈥檚 winning idea was to build a toolkit that would support expansion of their successful prevention program run in conjunction with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). Working with the BHA, HomeStart was able to preserve public housing tenancy for families at a cost of $2,000, versus the $10,000 the BHA spent on evictions, while enlisting the BHA to reimburse HomeStart for some of its costs. The Homelessness Prevention Toolkit provides a guide and materials that can be used both by HomeStart to replicate the BHA model with other property owners and by other agencies to enact the program.
鈥淭he outcome was substantially helpful,鈥� said听Matt Pritchard, President at HomeStart. 鈥淭he product will increase the number of families protected from homelessness, and it created energy among our board and supporters, while also creating a great collaboration opportunity.鈥�
Children鈥檚 Healthwatch
Children鈥檚 HealthWatch developed a model for how a tailored Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can make housing more affordable for low and lower-middle income families. They analyzed data and then built models for how a housing EITC can be implemented in Massachusetts, adjusted for regional housing costs. This type of EITC can free a significant portion of existing housing support resources to be targeted to families not currently able to work.
鈥淐onversations with staff at the United Way and Boston College to work through our idea and refine the strategy, especially around communications and information dissemination, was very helpful,鈥� said听Allison Bovell, Deputy Director of Policy Strategies at Children鈥檚 Healthwatch. 鈥淸This challenge provided] a great way to dedicate time for an innovative project that we would not have been able to do otherwise.
Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP)
MBHP worked with technical consultants from BC to create an app to help families find the best way to work with MBHP to find housing. The app can assess families鈥� eligibility for programs and connect them to affordable housing resources, including available rental subsidies, local available apartments, and nonfinancial solutions.
鈥淭his opportunity has been a great collaborative effort,鈥� said Steve Farrell, Director of Communications, Development, and Policy at Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. 鈥淭he potential impact on our families will be huge.鈥�
听
In the end, success was defined beyond the important missions of the individual prizewinners, as synergies were also created across teams.
鈥淥ne of the most striking observations about the conversation between the three agencies was the high level of interest in each other鈥檚 innovations, and how each project could enhance the work of the other organizations,鈥� said Olivia Mathews, assistant director at the Center for Social Innovation.
鈥淔or example, Children鈥檚 HealthWatch shared data that showed that children in families who were behind on rent payments one or more times per year exhibited the same negative mental health effects as those who were actually in the process of eviction or homeless. HomeStart felt this data would be compelling for enlisting support for their interventions to support families before they reach the point of being behind on rent鈥攄emonstrating that there is an even greater pool of families in need.鈥�