Emergency and Transitional Housing
Crittenton Women's Union is one of the largest providers of emergency and transitional housing for families in Massachusetts, with a capacity of nearly 125 families at one time. CWU offers congregate, community-based, and domestic violence housing programs.
CONGREGATE HOUSING
CWU's Hastings House, a congregate housing facility , accommodates 58 families and is located in Brighton, Mass. Staff works closely with families to assess their needs, identify barriers, and create a plan that will place them on a path to economic self-sufficiency.
While in residence, families receive case managemet services that include housing search assistance, education and career development counseling, guidinace on public supports, such as child-care vouchers, medical referrals, and transportation aid as needed. The average length of stay for famiiles at Hastings House is betwee 7-10 months. After securing, permanent housing, eligible families receive 12 months of stabilization services designed to help families navigate their new neighborhood, access available resources, and continue working on their economic self-sufficiency plan.
At Hastings House, volunteers organize nightly play group activities for guest children and offer academic tutoring for school-age children. Families can also participate in CWU's education and workforce development prorams—
GED and the Economic Mobility Institute—and in our Boston Neighborhoods Healthy Families program for first-time parents 20 years old or younger.
COmmunity-based HOUSINg
CWU provides 59 homeless families emergency housing in apartments in neighborhoods throughout Boston. These temporary residences offer the flexibility to shelter two-parent families, larger families, and those with special needs. Community-based living arrangements allow families greater independence as they work closely with a case manager to become self-sufficient and move into permanent housing.
CWU funds the rents and utilities and provides furnishings for these shelter apartments. The families are responsible for housekeeping, their meals, and personal expenses. Families receive case management services that include housing search assistance, education and career development counseling, guidance on public supports, such as child-care vouchers, medical referrals, and transporation aid as needed.
Families can also participate in CWU's education and workforce development programs—GED and the Economic Mobility Institute—and in our Boston Neighborhoods Healthy Families program for first-time parents 20 years old or younger.
Domestic violence housing
CWU's Horizons, a Transitional Living Program for Survivors of Domestic Violence (Horizons), provides a safe, stable, and supportive environment for survivors of domestic violence. Horizons is a proven model for helping survivors and their children heal from the effects of domestic violence and successfully transition into permament housing and lives of economic and personal self-sufficiency.
CWU case managers support residents in setting indvidual goals and connect them with services and resources that will help them attain self-sufficiency. These resources include education and career development counseling, job and housing search assistance, financial help, child-care services, and mental and general health-care services. Volunteers organize play group activities for guest children nightly.
Horizons residents also attend weekly workshops, covering topics such as self-esteem building, stress management, parenting and child development workshops, and budgeting. They can also participate in any CWU program, including the Economic Mobility Institute, GED, and Boston Neighborhoods Healthy Families.
