At the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA), we believe that ending homelessness requires transforming the way Massachusetts addresses it.
Homelessness is a public health crisis, as well as an economic one, and it is the result of system failures, as people struggling with housing affordability, medical and behavioral health conditions and other challenges fall through the cracks in the systems that are meant to serve them. Too often, these individuals are forced to rely on expensive emergency room and hospital visits, the corrections system, emergency shelters and the streets to provide them with a place to stay.
But hope exists. We know these challenges are not insurmountable because we’ve seen how the creation of long-term housing solutions aimed at ending homelessness changes lives.
Founded in 1988, MHSA is a nonprofit, public policy advocacy organization that has evolved to include nearly 100 community-based member agencies throughout Massachusetts. With our statewide perspective rooted in the experiences of local communities, MHSA brings member agencies and partners together around a unified vision to build a commonwealth where everyone has access to stable housing and the services they need to thrive.
MHSA advocates for policies that meet the needs of the most vulnerable. We collaborate with member agencies and partners to pilot and scale innovative programs that have already helped thousands of people move into permanent housing. We examine how public systems — behavioral health, corrections and more — feed into homelessness, and we work with local and state partners to make change.
Join us as we work together to end homelessness in Massachusetts.