- Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
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HOLYOKE — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $1 million in the first Fair Housing Trust Fund awards to seven organizations working to eliminate housing discrimination and expand access to fair housing protections across Massachusetts.
The awards, administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ Office of Fair Housing, will support enforcement, education, outreach, testing, legal advocacy, language access, fair housing planning and innovative projects to address emerging forms of housing discrimination. The grants are the first awards made through the Fair Housing Trust Fund and come as the federal government has retreated from fair housing enforcement, making state leadership more important than ever.
“Massachusetts is hustling to build more homes in every region, but we need to also make sure that every resident has a fair chance to access it,” said Governor Maura Healey. “At a time when the Trump Administration is stepping back from fair housing enforcement, Massachusetts is stepping up to protect residents from discrimination and expand access to housing. These first Fair Housing Trust Fund awards will help organizations across our state continue the important work of making housing more fair, accessible and equitable for everyone.”
“Fair housing is about making sure people can choose where to live, raise their families, go to school, work and build their futures without facing discrimination,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “That is why our administration created the Office of Fair Housing and why we are making these first awards through the Fair Housing Trust Fund. We are proud to support organizations that are trusted in their communities and doing the direct, on-the-ground work needed to make Massachusetts more affordable and more accessible for all.”
“Housing affordability and fair housing must go hand in hand. As we work to increase housing supply across Massachusetts, we must also ensure that residents know their rights, housing providers understand their responsibilities and discrimination is identified and addressed,” said HLC Secretary Juana Matias. “These awards are directly informed by what we heard from residents, advocates, service providers and local leaders during our Fair Housing Regional Listening Sessions. They will strengthen fair housing infrastructure, improve language access and help communities address both longstanding and emerging barriers to housing.”
The Office of Fair Housing conducted 13 regional listening sessions across the state, engaging more than 1,000 stakeholders, including residents, advocates, service providers and local leaders. The sessions helped identify fair housing challenges, regional needs and opportunities to strengthen enforcement, outreach and services.
The Fair Housing Trust Fund is a dedicated state fund established to support efforts to eliminate housing discrimination and advance fair housing across Massachusetts. The fund supports activities that combat housing discrimination, including enforcement, education and outreach, testing, addressing lending discrimination, affirmatively furthering fair housing and special projects. Eligible recipients include fair housing organizations, nonprofit agencies and state-funded public housing authorities.
The award recipients are:
- Suffolk University Center for Housing Justice and Policy: $190,000
- South Coast Fair Housing: $200,000
- Mass Fair Housing: $200,000
- Community Legal Aid: $200,000
- Alternatives for Community & Environment: $55,000
- Community Teamwork Initiative: $100,000
- Disability Policy Consortium: $55,000
The funded organizations will provide services across urban, suburban and rural communities, including Greater Boston, Western Massachusetts, Central Massachusetts, the Merrimack Valley and the South Coast. The awards will help sustain existing fair housing infrastructure while also supporting community-based organizations and innovative projects, including work to address discrimination involving technology and artificial intelligence.
The Fair Housing Trust Fund will support residents impacted by housing discrimination, including renters, homebuyers and households protected under Massachusetts law on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, familial status, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status and source of income. The grants will also support education and outreach to housing providers and industry stakeholders to promote compliance with fair housing laws and prevent discrimination.
These investments build on the administration’s broader efforts to make Massachusetts more affordable by increasing housing production, lowering costs, expanding homeownership programs and connecting residents with the stable homes and services they need to succeed. These include expanding down payment assistance and lowering mortgage rates to make it easier for Massachusetts residents to buy their first home.
At the same time, to build more homes, the governor has taken action to speed up the permitting process, turn state land into thousands of new homes, convert downtown commercial space into apartments and create a first-in-the-nation fund to finance mixed-income development in a time of high interest rates.
She also legalized Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and this year, her administration will be offering low-cost financing and free designs for anyone who wants to add an ADU to their home. To help people afford their mortgages and rents right now, she banned mandatory renter-paid broker fees, gave seniors up to $2,800 a year to help with housing costs, and expanded home inspection protections.
Statements of support:
Vineeth Hemavathi, Executive Director, Massachusetts Fair Housing Center:
"This Fair Housing Trust Award is so important and meaningful for so many different reasons. It demonstrates the Commonwealth's recognition and commitment to ending housing discrimination in Massachusetts. It helps to provide stability at a time when so much is uncertain. We are so thankful for this award and look forward to continuing to serve the people of Western and Central MA."
Kristina da Fonseca, executive director of SouthCoast Fair Housing:
"We are grateful to HLC for their support of fair housing enforcement, education, and advocacy in the South Coast, South Shore, Cape Cod & the Islands, and beyond. HLC’s Fair Housing Trust Fund awards come at a pivotal time for civil rights and are a critical step toward ensuring that every Massachusetts resident has equal access to housing, and every neighborhood is open and accessible to all."
Harry Weissman, executive director of the Disability Policy Consortium:
"The Disability Policy Consortium is grateful for the support of HLC via the Fair Housing Trust Fund, which will empower people with disabilities in Massachusetts to make their voices heard on housing issues. People with disabilities are twice as likely as those without to experience homelessness, largely due to the lack of affordable, accessible housing. As the commonwealth continues to address the housing crisis faced by many of our communities, it's crucial that the lived experiences of people with disabilities are part of that strategy, and we look forward to amplifying those experiences to key stakeholders. At a time when budgets are tight and funding for programs that serve marginalized communities is being slashed, we're especially grateful to HLC for prioritizing housing equity and civil rights."
Dwaign Tyndal, executive director of Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc.:
“ACE is honored to receive this grant award from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities,” said Stephanie Williams, Deputy Director of ACE. “This investment will allow ACE to continue teaching and spreading the value of fair housing work across the Commonwealth, while strengthening our ability to advocate for communities disproportionately impacted by displacement, gentrification, and housing inequities. ACE remains committed to ensuring residents understand their rights and have access to the resources necessary to remain in and thrive within their communities.”
Jonathan Mannina, executive director of Community Legal Aid:
"For many years, Community Legal Aid has provided legal assistance to the residents of Central and Western Massachusetts who unfortunately face discrimination in their efforts to secure and maintain safe and affordable housing. At a time when fair housing work and the funding that supports it is under threat, we are deeply grateful to the state for its leadership in ensuring this critical work will not only continue, but expand and reach more people in our service area and across the commonwealth."
Jamie Langowski, executive director and practitioner in residence for the Center for Housing Justice & Policy:
“We are honored to receive this grant, which will support our ongoing work to ensure that all renters, including those who rely on housing assistance, can access stable, equitable housing opportunities. As the rental market evolves, it is essential that new practices and technologies promote fairness and transparency. This funding will allow us to deepen our understanding of emerging challenges and develop evidence‑based recommendations that strengthen housing access for the communities we serve. We look forward to sharing our findings with partners and policymakers once the project is complete.”
Aaron Ginsberg, Fair Housing program manager at Community Teamwork, Inc.:
“This FHTF award is deeply meaningful for Community Teamwork, its Fair Housing Program, and our partners the City of Lowell and the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. These funds will be used to build our organizational and regional fair housing capacity by establishing a local paired testing program and increase the local fair housing presence. Greater Lowell, and norther Middlesex and Essex Counties have a demonstrated need for fair housing education and enforcement and this grant is wonderful recognition of that need and our local response.”
Maritza Crossen, interim CEO & chief operating officer at CHAPA:
“At a time when the federal government continues to divest in fair housing, CHAPA applauds the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for supporting these critical organizations and congratulates the Fiscal Year 2026 Fair Housing Trust Fund awardees. These seven organizations will continue to enforce and affirmatively further fair housing across Massachusetts with these significant resources from the state, helping people on the ground access more equitable, welcoming housing opportunities. CHAPA looks forward to elevating the work of these organizations and fair housing across the commonwealth.”
State Representative Richard Haggerty (30th Middlesex):
"As House Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, it is an honor to work alongside Speaker Mariano, House Ways and Means Chairman Michlewitz and my colleagues here in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to fund the Office of Fair Housing in Fiscal Year 2026. This crucial funding ensures that residents across the Commonwealth, from Woburn and Greater Boston to Central and Western Massachusetts, receive fair housing resources like education, advocacy, and local enforcement to make sure they can live in their respective neighborhoods with dignity. The state legislature looks forward to working with the Healey-Driscoll administration to sure all residents of the Commonwealth have a safe, stable place they can call home."
State Senator Lydia Edwards (Third Suffolk District):
“This million-dollar investment reflects our commitment to ensuring fair and equitable housing for communities across the Commonwealth. At a time when affordable housing remains top of mind for so many residents, these investments represent a critical step toward advancing housing equity – the very goal at the heart of the Affordable Homes Act. I congratulate each and every awardee and thank them for their continued efforts in ensuring that fair housing resources reach every resident across the Commonwealth. I also want to thank my colleagues in the legislature for recognizing the importance of this work and for making this critical funding possible through the Fair Housing Trust.”
State Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means:
"I’m thrilled South Coast Fair Housing is among the first recipients to receive a Fair Housing Trust Fund Award. I have often said that housing access and availability is the single biggest impediment to really making it in Massachusetts. South Coast does a great job advocating for housing equity and education for my constituents, and this funding will go a long way towards advancing that cause. The establishment of the Office of Fair Housing under the Affordable Homes Act is another example of the collaborative partnership between the Legislature and the Healey-Driscoll administration.”
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