SPRING 2009
Home for Good: Join the Housing Revolution
Sixth Annual Fundraising Event for the
Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Click here for a photo gallery from the event.
On May 14, approximately 300 MHSA members, friends and supporters gathered in the Rooftop Ballroom of the Omni Parker House Hotel for Home for Good: Join the Housing Revolution, the sixth annual MHSA awards and fundraising event. This year, MHSA honored Boston City Council President Mike Ross, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Wainwright Bank Bob Glassman and Pine Street Inn for their outstanding work in ending homelessness.
“Our honorees are exceptional leaders in our shared mission to end homelessness in Massachusetts,” said MHSA President & Executive Director Joe Finn. “Bob Glassman of Wainwright Bank, City Council President Ross and Pine Street Inn, led by Lyndia Downie, are committed advocates who inspire us all. It was a wonderful evening as we congratulated our awardees and celebrated strides made in ending homelessness in the Commonwealth.”
The event began with a cocktail hour where guests dined on passed hors d’oeuvres while enjoying the elegant atmosphere and jazz trio. Honorees mingled throughout the crowd conversing with friends, constituents, community leaders and other individuals committed to ending homelessness in the Commonwealth. Banners with inspirational quotes from Housing First tenants filled the ballroom and reminded guests of the MHSA message: keys cure homelessness.
An artistic DVD presentation, created by MHSA Board Member Walter Osterman, began the program portion of the event. It contrasted stark images of people living on the street with colorful images of newly housed tenants who have begun new lives in homes of their own.
Pictured clockwise: Pine Street Inn President Lyndia Downie, Co-Chairman of Wainwright Bank Bob Glassman with Philip Mangano and MHSA President & Executive Director Joe Finn, and Boston City Council President Mike Ross with The Reverend Canon Brian S. Kelley to the right.
Boston City Council President Mike Ross received the Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award, named in honor of the retired Canon of Social Justice of the Episcopal Diocese of New England and former MHSA Board Member, Reverend Canon Brian S. Kelley. For more than 35 years, Reverend Kelley addressed civil rights, homelessness and other social issues. Sharon Reilly, Executive Director of MHSA member agency The Women’s Lunch Place, introduced City Council President Ross and Reverend Kelley participated in the award presentation.
Former United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip F. Mangano, who ended his seven-year tenure on May 15, presented Bob Glassman with the Bob Ray Partnership Award, named for the late Robert E. Ray, former vice president at The Gillette Company. Now in its second year, the award recognizes the commitment of individuals in the private sector who work to end homelessness. MHSA then presented Philip Mangano with a special recognition for his dedication to ending homelessness across the nation.
Pine Street Inn received the MHSA Cornerstone Award in recognition of its 25 years providing permanent, supportive housing to end homelessness. The MHSA Cornerstone Award honors individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to providing assistance and care for homeless citizens across the Commonwealth. Past recipients include Geraldine McCafferty of the City of Springfield and the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership.
MHSA is grateful to our event sponsors, the Omni Parker House Hotel and especially to photographers John Deputy and Tara Morris, who captured the images of Housing First tenants so gracefully. Click here to view the event program booklet.
We’d also like to thank MHSA Board Member Walter Osterman, who spent hours of donated time creating the DVD presentation and Lauren Rochon of TLC Marketing, who designed the event theme and banners of inspirational quotes that filled the ballroom.
Click here for a photo gallery from the event.
We look forward to seeing you at our next event as we continue the housing revolution!
