logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

The ROI on Eviction Prevention: Proving Value

Jennifer Amanda Jones
January 24, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Door

January 23, 2014; Boston Globe

As a relentless freeze sweeps across the Midwest and the Northeastern part of the United States this week, it is hard to imagine being homeless. Unfortunately, in Massachusetts at least, the number of people without homes is on the rise. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported the total number of homeless individuals in the state rose to 19,029 in 2013, a jump of almost 2,300 persons from 2010.

HomeStart, Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit, has found that homelessness can be prevented with a focus on preventing eviction. Many families become homeless after falling behind on their rent. This can be due to sudden, catastrophic emergencies, like an illness that prevents someone from working. Helping a family over short-term hurdles, the agency suggests, can prevent long-term homelessness.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

HomeStart, Inc.’s Court Intervention Project was initiated in 2010 with a $500,000 grant from the Oak Foundation. The program helps families that have fallen on hard times. HomeStart has, in at least one instance, provided immediate financial assistance, negotiated partial payment installments for the individuals or families affected to cover some back rent, and helped to secure state subsidies to make up a portion of the difference. The organization also helps families to budget and, if possible, set up an automatic bill payment system under the watch of a third party. Many of their clients go from being on the verge of eviction to remaining in their homes and becoming—and, more importantly, staying—current on the rent.

The Boston Housing Authority is the largest public housing authority in New England, housing approximately 10 percent of Boston’s residents. It is also one of the largest evictors in the state. Eviction is costly for the Boston Housing Authority (approximately $10,000 per eviction) and for the State of Massachusetts, which may eventually end up paying approximately $2,500 a month for the family to stay in a homeless shelter.

HomeStart claims to have helped more than 550 families from 2010 to 2013 and, during the program’s first year, saved the Boston Housing Authority $365,000 in eviction-related costs. The Boston Housing Authority seems to be appreciative. When the Oak Foundation grant recently ran out, the Housing Authority agreed to pay the $50,000 annual salary for HomeStart’s court intervention specialist.—Jennifer Amanda Jones

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Jennifer Amanda Jones

Jennifer Amanda Jones, Ph.D. is the Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the University of Florida. Her research interests include nonprofit management, philanthropic giving, and social enterprise initiatives. She is a member of Nu Lambda Mu, the international honor society for nonprofit scholars. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Jones was involved in research projects benchmarking the nonprofit sector in San Diego and in the State of California. Additionally, Dr. Jones has spent more than 15 years working with nonprofit organizations of various types and sizes. She also served on the board of directors for a community foundation.

More about: Community OrganizingHuman ServicesNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation between Cyndi Suarez and Claire Dunning
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
Faith as a Pathway to Climate Action
Anmol Irfan
Building Trust: How to Put Bottom-Up Organizing Principles to Work
Ramón Cruz
Fight and Build: Envisioning Solidarity Economies as Transformative Politics
Penn Loh and Boone W. Shear
How do water shutoffs impact low-income communities?
Iris Crawford

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
The book "Nonprofit Neighborhoods" leaning against a wall
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation...
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
a black and white photo of a demonstration, with a child sitting on a adults shoulders, holding a sign that reads, "Lord, Heal Our Land"
Faith as a Pathway to Climate Action
Anmol Irfan

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.