RPS Hosts Community Night on Housing and Youth Support

Last Thursday, Revere Public Schools held an event for families, students, and community members to talk about housing stability, youth support, and access to important resources. The Haven Project and the Revere Housing Authority gave presentations at the event. The purpose of the event was to foster connections and facilitate information sharing. It focused on both short-term and long-term solutions for residents facing trouble finding a place to live.

Abe Garcia, a case manager at The Haven Project, a nonprofit that helps young adults ages 17 to 24 who are homeless or about to become homeless, gave a presentation to start the night. Garcia stressed the organization's goal of "equipping and empowering" young people to be safe and self-sufficient. This phrase came up many times during the presentation as both a guiding principle and a call to action.

The Haven Project is based on the North Shore and works with young adults from all over the area. These young adults come from a variety of backgrounds, including LGBTQ+ youth, survivors of domestic violence, and people who are having trouble with things like a lack of family support, mental health issues, financial instability, or immigration issues. The organization does not directly help families or people who need a lot of medical or drug abuse treatment, but staff members stressed that they work closely with partner agencies to make sure that anyone who asks for help is connected to the right resources.

Garcia told a number of powerful success stories that showed how the group had made a difference. In 2023, one former client joined the program without a place to live or a job. He finished an IT training program, got a job at North Shore Community College, found stable housing, got his driver's license, and finished his first semester of college thanks to The Haven Project's job training and education supports. Another client used to live in his car while trying to stay in touch with his young son. Now he has a job, a place to live, and can welcome his son into a stable home.

Garcia talked about the different services that are available. The Haven Project helps with basic needs like getting food and hygiene supplies, as well as applying for SNAP benefits.

"The organization runs food pantries and offers walk-in help for urgent needs,” Garcia said. “Education services include helping people get ready for the GED, tutoring, and helping them figure out how to get financial aid. Health services include helping people sign up for MassHealth and find primary care providers and therapists."

Housing is still a big part of what the organization does. Staff help young adults find shelters, fill out housing applications, and apply for longer-term housing programs. They walk clients through what can be a complicated and scary process step by step. Helping young people become more independent and stable is the goal of employment support, which includes writing resumes, filling out job applications, and connecting them with job agencies.

Garcia said that The Haven Project's job training program, which started in 2016 through its social enterprise café, Land of a Thousand Hills, is one of the most important parts of its programming.

"Participants gain work experience and life skills, and the program has grown beyond the café to look into other career paths in other fields,” he said. “The organization also hosts a drop-in center twice a week, offering hot meals, games, and—most importantly—a safe space for young adults to connect with peers who share similar experiences.”

The presentation also talked about The Haven Project's housing programs, such as transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and low-income micro-studios. These programs give young adults looking for stability many different ways to get it, such as through shared transitional units, short-term rental assistance, or independent living with ongoing case management.

After The Haven Project's presentation, Tricia Duffy from the Revere Housing Authority gave a thorough overview of the public housing and voucher programs that are available to residents. Duffy went over the requirements for eligibility, the income limits, and the differences between housing options funded by the federal government and those funded by the state. He stressed that most programs are based on household income and that tenants usually have to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.

Attendees learned about Section 8 vouchers, which help people find housing in the private market, as well as state-funded options like the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program and the Alternative Housing Voucher Program. Duffy stressed how important it is to be accurate when filling out applications, saying that missing or wrong information can delay or even endanger eligibility.

A big part of the presentation was about the rules for getting emergency housing and common misunderstandings. Duffy told people not to leave their homes too soon if they get a notice from their landlord. He explained that qualifying for emergency status often requires proper paperwork, such as eviction notices from a court. She told anyone who was troubled by their housing to get in touch with the Housing Authority directly for help before doing anything.

Duffy also explained the application process to those who were there. This included waiting lists, preferences for Revere residents or workers, the need for annual recertification, and tenants' rights to appeal decisions. She stressed that help is available for applicants who don't feel comfortable filling out forms online and that translation services are available to make sure language isn't a barrier to access.

RPS staff discussed how the district is committed to supporting the entire community throughout the night. Attendees were given free hygiene products and were told to take what they needed. At the end of the event, there were opportunities for people to ask questions one-on-one, allowing families and individuals to talk directly with presenters about their own situations.

PLEASE SEE THE PRESENTATIONS BELOW