Past Events
OCTOBER 2006
Ending Homelessness: Housing First in Policy and Practice
On October 19 and 20, 2006 more than 450 advocates, homeless service providers, government officials, members of faith communities and philanthropists gathered in Worcester, Massachusetts for Ending Homelessness: Housing First in Policy and Practice. In a historic collaboration, MHSA joined with One Family, Inc. and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB) to present this two-day conference focused on housing-based solutions for homeless individuals and homeless families.
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Photographer: John Deputy | |
Over the course of the event, conference attendees heard from Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; Martha Burt and Dennis Culhane, leading homelessness researchers; Sam Tsemberis, Founder and Executive Director of Pathways to Housing in New York City; Nan Roman, Executive Director of the National Alliance to End Homelessness; and Linda Gibbs and Rob Hess of the City of New York.
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Photographer: John Deputy | |
Participants also attended workshops on topics including philanthropic support of Housing First initiatives, youth and Housing First, and best practices of Massachusetts agencies implementing Housing First. At an evening reception, awards were presented to Peter Forman, President of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and the Housing Assistance Corporation on Cape Cod for their exemplary efforts to end homelessness in Massachusetts.
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Photographer: John Deputy | ||
Shifting the response to homelessness from an emergency system to permanent, housing-based solutions will require the participation of all levels of government, public and private sectors, and citizens at large. MHSA believes that Ending Homelessness: Housing First in Policy and Practice was the kick-off to something much bigger than the implementation of a housing model – our gathering represented a new infusion of hope and imagination into ending homelessness amongst our poorest neighbors.
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Photographer: John Deputy | |
For more information, contact Erin Donohue or Ezra Sykes. To view PowerPoint presentations from the conference, click here.
