Webster Bank Awards POUA a Grant for Health & Housing Initiative

We are grateful for Webster Bank's continued support of our Health & Housing Initiative, our newest program to assess residents’ health needs, and connect our low-income residents and families with supportive services. Webster Bank recently awarded POUA a generous Community Reinvestment Act grant to help continue to fund this initiative.

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POUA & Health Imperatives Receive $1.2 Million Affordable Housing Award

Representatives from the Planning Office for Urban Affairs (“POUA”) and Health Imperatives joined Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox on July 15 for the announcement of a $1.2 million affordable housing award from the Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”). The DHCD award will support the acquisition and redevelopment of a vacant 8-room residential home into innovative housing with supportive educational programming for survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. This important re-use property will be known as Sanctuary Place.

 

“The Department of Housing and Community Development’s support is critical in developing a safe, stable and supportive environment for women coming out of the trafficking system,” says Bill Grogan, President of Planning Office for Urban Affairs. “Sanctuary Place will provide housing and holistic services for these women to not just survive, but to thrive in a community environment, with the help of our partners at Health Imperatives, who are experienced in working with this vulnerable population. We appreciate the Commonwealth’s and DHCD’s commitment to provide service-supported resources for targeted housing and services for survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.”

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The Ledges Virtual Ribbon Cutting, Ashland

The Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA) and EA Fish Development recently completed a 64-unit affordable housing development in Ashland, MA called The Ledges. The Ledges provides seniors with much needed housing, just in time for the beginning of a new year and a cold winter, with its opening in January 2021. With a timeline starting in 2005, the team has been resilient and dedicated to increasing affordable housing options for residents in the Ashland area and nearby communities; this development is the culmination of a 15-year public-private partnership between the Town of Ashland, EA Fish Development, and POUA. At least 15 of the 64 units provide homes for local Ashland community members. Watch the virtual ribbon cutting video for more!

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UMass Gerontology Institute Blog on POUA Partnership

Maria Iacobo recently delved into the partnership between POUA and UMass Boston's Geronotology Institute. See an excerpt below, and read the full article here!

“We’re developers and project managers, not social workers or healthcare providers,” says Amarillys Rodriguez, Development and Policy Project Manager for the Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA). “We needed to bridge this gap and have the kind of expertise on hand to help us better understand our residents.”

POUA reached out to the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston and the two organizations created a graduate assistantship. The opportunity allowed one doctoral student in UMass Boston’s distinguished Gerontology program to help POUA move forward on its Health & Housing Initiative while gaining useful work experience.

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What Massachusetts Needs to Know about Prostitution

Our partners at our Safehaven development for victims of human trafficking are hosting a webinar on new legislation that protects victims. Sign up here to attend their webinar with more info on June 7th at 11AM.

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