KEY TERMS

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE RESOURCES

Community rooms are shelter spaces for families who are not eligible for Emergency Assistance through the Department of Housing and Community Development. These rooms are not funded by the state government.

Congregate shelters are facilities with common living areas and private sleeping spaces for each family. It is a safe and stable place to call home while families look for permanent housing.

DHCD is the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

DTA is the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, also known as the welfare department. Click here to find a DTA office near you: http://webapps.ehs.state.ma.us/DTAOffices/default.aspx

Emergency Assistance (EA) is a state-funded program under the Department of Housing and Community Development that provides shelter, housing search, and housing stabilization resources to families with children under the age of 21 and to pregnant women.

Scattered site shelters are apartment style, temporary housing that give families a safe place to stay while working towards permanent housing. Although they are in independent living conditions and separate from other families, families receive the same case management and support services as those in congregate shelters.

Transitional housing programs offer housing supports to assist people who are ready to move beyond emergency shelter but need additional supportive services to move out of homelessness.