A partnership between Boston Public Schools and support organizations that helps families avoid homelessness has seen its funding cut…
A new study showed that a partnership between Boston Public Schools and support organizations helps families avoid homelessness, increases students’ school attendance rates, and improves parent and child well-being.
A few days after the study was published, the program lost nearly a fifth of its funding.
The Early Homelessness Intervention Program (EHIP) provides housing support and other resources to families that experience a job loss, income change, or other challenges before they could experience homelessness. The program has served 3,000 families since 2019.
EHIP is run by a partnership between BPS; FamilyAid, an organization that works to prevent homelessness; and United Way of Massachusetts Bay, a nonprofit philanthropic organization.
Ellen Dickenson, the senior vice president for research at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and an author of the study, said preventative housing support solves more problems than housing instability alone. “The earlier that families can get support to avoid a destabilizing move, the better off their housing stability will be, the better off their well-being will be, and the more engaged their students will be in school,” she noted.
More than 1 in 10 students enrolled in Boston Public Schools last school year were homeless at some point during the school year, Dickenson said.
The study, led by the Boston College School of Social Work, found that families in the program had increased housing stability. Students in the program saw a decrease from 61 percent to 52 percent in rates of chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing at least 10 percent of school days. Parents said physical and mental health improved, too.
A referral made a difference
Stacy Perez-Ives felt clueless when she needed help. Then she was referred to EHIP. A single mother to two girls under the age of 5, Perez-Ives has been part of EHIP since the end of last year. With the program’s help, Perez-Ives applied for state housing support, received day care assistance, and found employment.
She works at a preschool, where, she said, she’s learning how to be a better mom to her daughters, Zulema and Alianny.
“Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for help,” Perez-Ives said. “There’s resources out there. And when you do have them, take them to your advantage.”
The study
Families referred to the program by school staff were invited to participate in the study with the Boston College School of Social Work. Over the span of two years, more than 100 families from BPS schools were periodically surveyed over the phone and online. The rerports tracked families’ emotional and financial well-being and students’ attendance and performance in school.
Researchers hope the study’s findings will provide evidence of the value of a school-housing partnership, said Jessica McCabe Johnson, director of the Family Housing Hardship Program at Boston College and an author of the study.
“Having EHIP as something that school staff can push across the table to families… really furthers the relationship and trust that families have with the school,” said Kedan Harris, assistant director of the Department of Opportunity Youth at BPS and an author of the study. Harris works to connect students and families who face homelessness with outside support organizations like FamilyAid. He also aims to foster an “attendance culture” for students.
The funding
EHIP costs about $4.2 million annually, said Larry Seamans, president and chief executive officer of FamilyAid. Just days after the research on EHIP was published this month, Seamans said $750,000, or about 18 percent of EHIP’s anticipated funding, was cut for the upcoming school year.
He said that FamilyAid was informed by the BPS administration that its $750,000 contract for the program had been cut from the upcoming school year budget.
Where the $750,000 elimination had come from and who decided to eliminate it is unclear. Repeated calls to the school committee seeking clarification went unanswered. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said the program’s funding came from the city. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office declined to say where the funding came from, told a reporter they would look into it, and then stopped responding to phone calls.
In a statement to The Reporter, the Boston School Committee wrote “we deeply value FamilyAid’s program, and we are working to identify funding for FY27.”
On a positive note, EHIP recently received a $250,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, and, Seamans said, FamilyAid will try to close the remaining $500,000 gap.
“People living in poverty are probably facing the most difficult time in American history,” he said. “Entities like governments need to make decisions where they’re going to invest and support the most vulnerable with the very best, proven programs.”
He noted that the program will continue. “It’s a question of whether or not it will remain as robust as it is.”
This story is the product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.