MA CLUBHOUSE COALITION

Effort Under Way To End Homlessness In Massachusetts

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Lt. Governor Tim Murray are collaborating with legislative and community leaders in an effort to end homelessness in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition (MCC) plans to support this effort by educating officials about the housing needs of people who have mental illness.

In November, Clubhouse members testified at an Ending Homelessness hearing and spoke eloquently about the importance of having a safe place to call home. Our collective voices are needed to advocate for additional funding for housing and support services to address the pressing, unmet housing needs that so severely impact the lives of people who have mental illness. The MCC is perfectly situated to play a key role in helping to prevent homelessness for the 8,000 people who have mental illness who participate in Clubhouses each year. Clubhouses provide flexible housing supports to help people move out of shelters and group homes into their own apartments. Clubhouses offer peer support, assistance in obtaining rental stipends, apartment search assistance and help with moving and landlord mediation while also providing employment and education assistance, dual recovery support and active outreach to help people stay connected.

Each of the 32 MA Clubhouses provide some degree of housing support. Clubhouse Housing helps to relieve the bottle neck in the residential system by providing immediate assistance to those individuals who may not be able to live successfully in the community without some support, but do not need the more intensive services of a group home or dual recovery residence. Some Clubhouses have purchased and rehabbed buildings for affordable housing either directly or with local Community Development providers. Eleven MCC Clubhouses have funding to provide formal housing supports. Six of these are part of the Clubhouse Housing Support Project.

DMH provides funding for the Clubhouse Housing Support Projects. Each Project funds a staff person to help expand the Clubhouse’s housing capacity while providing flexible cash assistance and more intensive supports enabling 3-5 people to move into their own apartment. The funded Clubhouses provide individualized and flexible support as well as direct cash assistance for either first and last months rent, transitional rental stipends, security deposits, or housing related bills that are serving as a barrier to stable living. This flexible funding can also help with moving expenses and furniture.

The current Clubhouse Housing Support Projects have been quite successful in helping to prevent homelessness and secure housing. Over 67 people have secured housing through the Project including 32 formerly homeless individuals. The MCC is looking to expand the project into an additional 20 Clubhouses.