Horizons Housing Program

The first supportive housing program in New England for battered and homeless women, the Horizons Housing Program opened in Boston in 1985, filling a gap in the shelter system for battered women and children. The original Horizons housed seven women and their children. In response to a continued need for housing for domestic violence survivors in the City of Boston, a second Horizons home opened in 2002, in partnership with the Caleb Foundation, providing an additional 11 units of housing.

A proven model for helping women and their children to heal from the effect of domestic violence and successfully transitioning them into stable housing as they move forward with their lives, the Horizons Housing Program operates these 18 units in two sites in Boston, representing more than 40% of the available transitional housing spaces available for domestic violence survivors in Boston.

Residents are assigned a case manager who supports them in establishing individual goals and links residents with the community resources to successfully reach those goals. These resources may include health, mental health, educational/job search resources, financial assistance, and child care resources. The case managers also assist residents with housing search and daily support and encouragement. Staff is on-call 24 hours a day and seven days a week for clients.

Horizons enjoys strong partnerships with the many organizations including:

• The Trauma Center at Boston Medical Center — offers mental health and domestic violence counseling for residents and provides case management to staff.
• Greater Boston Legal Services — assists residents with legal issues.
• The Family-to-Family Project, South Shore Public Housing, Second Step, and the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence — provide financial support for housing expenses such as security deposits.
• The Horizons Initiative (unrelated to the Horizons Housing Program) — provides volunteers to support child care activities as well as full time day care for children and a GED program for mothers.
• The Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston — offers discount memberships for children living at Horizons.
• Boston Early Intervention Center — works directly with children under three years old.
• Mujeres Unidas and Cardinal Cushing Center — offer a variety of educational services including Adult Literacy, ESL, and GED programs.