Services that Work
Homelessness Prevention
Our Homelessness Prevention program offers financial assistance and intensive case management to families who may be at risk of losing their housing. We work with families to help them access funding and resources that will allow them to stay in their homes. In many cases, we serve as mediators for the family and landlord to help enhance a relationship of trust and patience. Landlord mediation has proven to be incredibly successful at keeping families in their homes while we work with them to secure enough funding to pay off their rental debt.
Shelter Diversion
Shelter Diversion is best described as any and all strategies and resources that help a family avoid entering into the emergency shelter system. Many families who call our office no longer have a safe and permanent place to stay. Often a family may be temporarily living with a friend or paying for a hotel. Their situation may not involve a lease, which makes preventing homelessness very difficult. Shelter diversion can look like offering a family financial assistance to pay for transportation to a place where they may have family who are able to house them. It could also mean offering financial assistance to the friend who has offered the family their home, while we work with the family to find them more permanent, stable housing.
Emergency Shelter
Temporarily closed while we look for a permanent space to expand the shelter program.
Housing Stabilization
An important part of the Family Promise North Shore Boston program is the aftercare services provided to each family post-graduation through the Families Forward Program, or housing stabilization. While this is less intensive than the care families receive while in our emergency shelter, staff meets monthly with graduate families to ensure they maintain their monthly budgets, income, expenses and continued debt reduction. An ancillary benefit to the aftercare program is that we are able to assist families with any problem-solving issues, as well as help them resolve any needs that may arise, such as after school/summer camp needs or referrals to additional services. The Families Forward Program helps ensure that our guests’ instances of homelessness are non-recurring.
Shelter & Housing Navigation
The SHN Program includes three of our most utilized services: Homelessness Prevention, Shelter Diversion, and Housing Stabilization. Those in need are encouraged to reach out to our staff who are ready and prepared to assist families with accessing shelter, preventing eviction, and applying for housing and other benefits. If you are at risk of homelessness and need someone to help you find stability, please contact our office.
Supporting Families in Need
“At Family Promise, we've always been the community's creative response to an ongoing crisis. Thanks to your donations, we are able to fill a growing void with the services we provide.”
— A message from our Executive Director
