Thank you for Supporting Home for Good!

On Thursday, May 5, 2022, friends and supporters of MHSA gathered in person at Polar Park. We celebrated the exceptional commitment of our honorees in addressing homelessness. Thank you for joining us in this effort!

Help us keep the momentum going

Contributing to Home for Good at Home Plate will help MHSA continue our work and develop lasting housing solutions to end homelessness in Massachusetts

Text ‘MHSA’ + Amount + Name at 50155 to donate. 

Example: MHSA 100 Smiley 

About Home for Good

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr.

City of Worcester
Recipient of the Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award

Born and raised in the City of Worcester, Edward M. Augustus Jr. is a former Massachusetts state senator with more than 30 years in public service. He has served as Worcester City Manager since 2014. Charged with the day-to-day operations of the second largest city in New England, he has overseen an economic resurgence that has included unprecedented investments in housing as well as new business growth and development. Chief among them is the new Polar Park, home to the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, which opened in May 2021. He is also the former chief of staff to Congressman James McGovern. Prior to becoming city manager, he served as director of Government and Community Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. He is a graduate of Saint John’s High School, Suffolk University and Johns Hopkins University. He holds a master’s degree in government.

Alex Corrales

Chief Executive Officer
Worcester Housing Authority
Recipient of the Bob Ray Partnership Award

Alex Corrales is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA). WHA is the second largest housing authority in New England, responsible for almost 3,000 apartments and 4,300 vouchers serving more than 16,000 residents, over 8% of Worcester’s population.

Alex began working in the public housing industry more than 24 years ago. During his tenure as CEO, Alex has been instrumental in moving the WHA forward and identifying alternative revenue streams to reduce the dependency on federal and state subsidy. In only six years, the WHA has grown from a $60 million agency to $95 million. The WHA has implemented numerous green initiatives including solar energy farms, LED lighting and water conservation that have resulted in savings of over a $1.5 million a year.

Additionally, Alex has been instrumental in establishing a Real Estate Development division within the WHA to address the shortage of affordable housing in Worcester. Alex received funding from the State for A Place to Live at 38 Lewis Street, to build 24 apartments for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. He also purchased the former Reliant Medical campus at 630 Plantation Street and it is now home to the WHA headquarters. Currently, Alex is building an Economic Opportunity Center in Great Brook Valley as a start of the art facility that will house a branch library of the City of Worcester, property management offices, a 100-person conference center, and home to all of the WHA resident self-sufficiency programs and educational programs.

Alex recently submitted for approval to redevelop Curtis Apartments, a 372-unit public housing property from the 1950s. The new plan will build over 472 affordable apartments.

James Arthur Jemison

Former Deputy Undersecretary, Department of Housing & Community Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Recipient of the Rep. Byron Rushing Commitment to Housing Award

MHSA worked with Mr. Jemison when he served as Deputy Undersecretary and Deputy Director for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Deval Patrick. Prior to that, Mr. Jemison held a variety of public- and private-sector positions, all related to city planning and urban development, primarily in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Locally, this includes his role in the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development in the District of Columbia, as the City recovered from Control Board management during the first term of Mayor Anthony Williams.

In early 2014, he was recruited by Mayor Duggan to be the Director of the Housing & Revitalization Department for the City of Detroit to assist as the City recovered from bankruptcy. In that capacity, Mr. Jemison led strategy, deployment and management of the City’s housing policy and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) entitlement funding.

He was later promoted by the Mayor to Group Executive for Planning, Housing & Development, leading the City’s efforts toward equitable growth, working in partnership with Directors of the Housing & Revitalization Department, the Planning & Development Department, the Detroit Land Bank Authority, Detroit Housing Commission, and the Bridging Neighborhoods program.

In 2021, Mr. Jemison was appointed by the Biden Administration to be the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, DC.

Pamela Schwartz

Director,
and the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
Recipients of the Cornerstone Award

Pamela Schwartz has served as Director of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness since 2009. Pamela began her career as a legal services lawyer representing low-income tenants and then moved into policy work with the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts (now Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center), Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the National Priorities Project. She also has worked as an organizer on a number of ballot and electoral campaigns and served in elected office as a Northampton City Councilor (2009-2013). Pamela is a graduate of Barnard College (1985) and New York University School of Law (1988). She lives in Northampton with her husband, Joel Feldman, and has 3 grown children, Isaiah, Gabriel and Talia.

The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness (“Network”) coordinates over 200 partners and state and local leaders across Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire Counties to prevent and end homelessness with a Housing First approach that centers racial equity. Since 2009, the Network has steadily grown to provide a powerful vehicle for bringing the western region’s housing needs to state and federal decision makers, promoting equitable distribution of resources and policies that address root causes of homelessness. Through its cross-sector collaboration and now 650 person action alert list, the Network continues to advance its mission in partnership with state and national coalitions working for housing justice.

Thank you to our Home for Good Supporters!