Resources for supporting families experiencing homelessness

Share these resources with people you’re working with to help them find local and state programs and services, including food and nutrition resources, health insurance, and housing assistance to support children, birthing people, and families experiencing homelessness.

For comprehensive resources, please call 211 or visit mass211.org. 

Food and nutrition

• Project Bread 
  Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline at [phone] provides free assistance with finding food resources, understanding SNAP eligibility, and providing application assistance in 180 languages. 
• SNAP Benefits 
  The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal assistance program that provides healthy food and helps connect families to opportunities that support their wellbeing and education and employment goals. 
• WIC Program 
  The Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care and other services to eligible Massachusetts families. 

Mental health

• Finding mental health support in Massachusetts 
  This guide from the Department of Mental Health helps people find supports and services that are appropriate for their needs.  
• The Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL) 
  The Behavioral Health Help Line at [phone] connects individuals and families to the full range of treatment services for mental health and substance use offered in Massachusetts, including outpatient, urgent, and immediate crisis care. The BHHL is available 24/7 and offers real-time interpretation in 200+ languages.  
• Massachusetts Network of Care 
  Find information about resources in your community for children and adults with mental health and substance use needs. 
• Postpartum Depression Support 
  Find resources, including support groups, helplines, and mental health treatment, for parents and caregivers who are struggling with depression after having a baby. 
• HandHold MA 
  HandHold MA offers information for parents and caregivers on supporting their child’s mental health and emotional well-being. 

Health care and insurance

• MassHealth 
  MassHealth provides health benefits and help paying for them to qualifying children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities living in Massachusetts. This includes pregnant people. People can also check out the member booklet for health and dental coverage and help paying costs.  
• Health Care For All HelpLine 
  Advocates for health justice in Massachusetts provide a free multilingual statewide resource to help consumers with health coverage: call [phone] or complete an online inquiry form.  
• Sexual and reproductive health services and locations 
  Find clinics and health care providers in Massachusetts offering sexual and reproductive health services. The clinics and health care providers listed offer sexual and reproductive health services, like birth control, emergency contraception (EC), pregnancy and infertility services, STI testing, and more. Some of these clinics also offer abortion services. 
• School-based health centers 
  School-based health centers are satellite clinics of health centers or hospitals that provide primary health care to students within the school building (41 health centers in 22 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts, mostly in high schools). Services may include mental health care, reproductive health care, access to social services, oral health care, and health education.  

Immigration, immigrant health, and legal assistance

• Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder 
  Helps Massachusetts residents find legal help and information.  
• MassHealth Limited 
  MassHealth Limited provides emergency health services to people who have an immigration status that keeps them from getting more services. 
• The Commonwealth’s Health Safety Net program  
  The Health Safety Net program is available to qualifying Massachusetts residents regardless of their immigration status with low income, who are uninsured, or are underinsured. 

Transportation

• MassHealth PT-1 
  Certain types of MassHealth cover non-emergency transportation to medical appointments for a MassHealth member. MassHealth providers can request this service for a member. The site provides step by step instructions on how to complete “Provider Request for Transportation (PT-1)”. Contact via phone: [phone], email: [e-mail], or find our more about PT-1.
• Employment transportation and workforce development 
  This site provides resources for job seekers that are looking for transportation that is accessible, reliable, and affordable in order to get to jobs, classes, and training programs.  

Housing

• CHAMP — Public Housing Applications 
  CHAMP allows families to apply for affordable housing through the Massachusetts state-aided Public Housing program, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), and the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP).  
• Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) 
  The RAFT program helps keep families in stable housing conditions when facing eviction, foreclosure, loss of utilities, and other housing emergencies caused by loss of income, increase in expenses, or both. 
• F.O.R. Families Program
  F.O.R. Families is a home visiting program for families who are transitioning from homelessness to stable housing and receiving Emergency Assistance from the Division of Housing Stabilization at the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). 
• Additional housing resources: 
  • Emergency Housing Assistance Programs 
  • Housing Consumer Education Centers 
  • Housing Works Inc.  
  • MassAccess Accessible Housing Registry  
  • Apply for EA Emergency Family Shelter 
  • Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Resource Locator   
  • MA Housing Assistance Programs (emergency & long-term help)
  • Housing Choice Vouchers Fact Sheet 

Utilities assistance

• MassLegalHelp Utility Rights and Programs 
  Provides information about shutoff protections, even if you can’t pay your bills. For more information, visit masslegalhelp.org.
• SafeLink Wireless
  A government benefit program that offers free smartphones, talk, text and data to qualifying individuals. 

Education and employment

• Educational Services for Immigrant Children and Those Recently Arrived to the United States  
  U.S. Department of Education resource  
• Parent Child+ 
  ParentChild+ is a school readiness program that provides one-on-one reading support for young learners in some communities for families facing challenges. 
• Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) 
  Provides up to eight months of cash assistance for income-eligible refugees without dependent children, who reside in Massachusetts.  
• Refugee Employment Services (RES) 
  Provides targeted services for both early employment and long-term self-sufficiency through an integrated model, including English and literacy instruction; employment-related case management; employment readiness; access to vocational skill trainings; and job placement, retention and upgrade services. 

Domestic violence and sexual assault

• SafeLink
  SafeLink is Massachusetts’ statewide 24/7 toll-free domestic violence hotline and a resource for anyone affected by domestic or dating violence. 
• Statewide resources for sexual assault survivors 
  A collection of resources for survivors throughout Massachusetts, including rape crisis centers by county.  

People with disabilities

• Options Counseling Program  
  Options Counseling is a free service that can help older adults, adults with disabilities, their family members, or caregivers make decisions on supportive services if they don’t know where to turn. 
• Community Support Line for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs   
  DPH’s Community Support Line at [phone], offered by the Division for Children & Youth with Special Health Needs, provides information, technical assistance, and resources for families with children and youth with special health needs and the providers serving these families. 
• Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) Information Center 
  The FCSN Information Center [phone] is a free service for parents and professionals with questions about special education. Families can speak to trained volunteers and information specialists knowledgeable to learn more about federal and state special education laws and procedures as well as community resources. 
• Information for Pregnant MassHealth Members 
  MassHealth provides health insurance coverage to eligible those who are pregnant or recently pregnant, with covered services including prenatal, postpartum, and labor and delivery care. 
• New England INDEX 
  New England INDEX helps people with disabilities find accessible social and medical services, information and referral, technical assistance, trainings, online education, and technological supports.  
• Massachusetts Centers for Independent Living  
  The Massachusetts Centers for Independent Living (CILs) help ensure individuals with disabilities can live independently in the community of their choice with the services and supports they need including referrals, peer support, and skills trainings.  
• Health and Disability Program 
  DPH’s Health and Disability Program provides short-term navigation and care as well as social services coordination for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Individuals can contact [e-mail] to arrange an intake appointment. 
• Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) Emergency Aid to Elders, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) 
  You can apply for EAEDC by calling your local DTA office or online. 
• Family TIES of Massachusetts  
  Provides information and referral services (including a resources guide), emotional support, and training to parents of children and youth with special needs.   

Other support for families

• The Parental Stress Line 
  The Parental Stress Line at [phone] is a toll-free, confidential helpline for any parent or caregiver who might need to discuss issues related to their children. Trained volunteer counselors answer the Parental Stress Line and offer support, empathy, encouragement, information, referrals. Available 24/7 and in all languages. 
• Community Support Line for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs   
  DPH’s Community Support Line at [phone], offered by the Division for Children & Youth with Special Health Needs, provides information, technical assistance, and resources for families with children and youth with special health needs and the providers serving these families. 
• Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) Information Center 
  The FCSN Information Center at [phone] is a free service for parents and professionals with questions about special education. Families can speak to trained volunteers and information specialists knowledgeable to learn more about federal and state special education laws and procedures as well as community resources.  
• Family Resource Centers 
  Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are a statewide network of community-based providers offering multi-cultural parenting programs, support groups, early childhood services, information and referral resources and education for families whose children range in age from birth to 18 years old. 
• Family Caregiver Support Program 
  The Family Caregiver Support Program is a free program that can help you care for a member of your family. A caregiver specialist will create a plan and give you tips and support. 
• Healthy Families 
  Healthy Families is a free support program for first-time parents ages 23 and under. Young parents can sign up for the program from pregnancy until their baby reaches age 1. 
• FIRST (Families In Recovery SupporT) Steps Together 
  FIRST Steps Together is a home visiting program that provides recovery and parenting supports for pregnant and parenting individuals who are affected by current or past substance use and have at least one child age 5 or younger.