First Stop: A Health Center Prevention Collaborative

In December 2003, the Coalition received a grant from The Boston Foundation to initiate a homelessness prevention collaborative with Boston area health centers. The goal of this project is to pilot a new early warning system capable of reaching low income households at the first signs of a housing crisis and linking them with needed resources to stabilize their housing situations. Through the First Stop Initiative, the Coalition will place homeless advocates at Boston area health centers. These advocates will hold weekly on-site housing clinics, providing health center consumers facing housing difficulties with an opportunity to speak with an advocate about their situations and to get help accessing needed resources including financial assistance. First Stop staff will also provide monthly workshops to community residents on a range of topics, such as “The rights of tenants facing eviction” and “Tips on finding affordable housing”, designed to help those at-risk of losing their housing to stabilize their situations. The First Stop Initiative was launched at the Codman Square Health Center in the winter of 2004 with the hope of expanding the project to additional health centers in the future.

For more information or to get involved, call the Coalition at (781) 595-7570