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Emergency Assistance

How to Get Help

For more information, contact the Division of Housing Stabilization at 617-573-1370
or toll free at 877-418-3308, TTY 617-573-1140.

Locate a Service Provider

Eligibility

Effective February 18, 2013, the new Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) issued pursuant to Federal Register (Vol. 78, No. 16, January 24, 2013, pp. 5182-5183) will be used to determine eligibility for Emergency Assistance (EA). The EA eligibility for applicants and recipients is 115 % of the Federal Poverty Guideline. This change has been programmed into ASIST. Attached is a link to our Housing Stabilization Notice 2013-01 with the EA eligibility standard chart to use when determining eligibility.

Overview

The Division of Housing Stabilization (DHS), DHCD's newest unit, is charged with the mission of preventing homelessness, sheltering those for whom homelessness is unavoidable, and rapidly re-housing the homeless in stable, permanent housing. DHS's work is guided by the Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness' Plan to End Homelessness and the Patrick-Murray Administration's Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness.

The Emergency Assistance program (EA) has moved from the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to DHCD. DHCD-employed EA workers in the field will now be a part of DHS and will respond to a family or individuals that walk into one of the 22 DTA offices seeking housing assistance.

The Division of Housing Stabilization also oversees the Regional Networks created under the auspices of the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness (ICHH). With EA and oversight of the Networks consolidated into one department, DHCD is leading the way with a new level of coordination between the Commonwealth's shelter agencies and key partners in cities and towns around the Commonwealth. This coordination will serve as a national model and aim to address the problem of homelessness by connecting families to the right resources at the right time.