Abstract
Sponsored by One Family, Inc and carried out by a politically-neutral study team
from Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, the ten
regional forums engaged more than 175 stakeholders in constructive dialogue
about transforming the EA system. The forums represented another strategic step
toward the goal of ending family homelessness in Massachusetts and follows the
2007 “Report of the Special Commission Relative to Ending Homelessness in the
Commonwealth,” and a White Paper, “Ending Family Homelessness in
Massachusetts: A New Approach for the Emergency Assistance (EA) Program”,
released in 2010 and commissioned by the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable
Foundation. The purpose of the forums was explicit and twofold: to explore ways of improving
the Emergency Assistance (EA) program so that it is able to serve more families in
need and more effectively prevent and end homelessness for families in
Massachusetts; and to capture the Network’s thinking and perspectives on creating
a stronger, more flexible EA system that better meets the needs of the families
they serve.