OUR HISTORY

Boston’s homeless shelters in the 1990’s provided adults with a temporary place to stay, 

but offered few support services to help them find housing. This resulted in the issue of 

homelessness being left at a standstill while many people remained in desperate need of a home.

HomeStart began with a pilot grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

(HUD), which allowed us to start placing homeless families in housing. As our organization grew, 

we developed follow-up services to assist people in retaining their homes.

We also took on the challenge of securing and managing an array of housing tools that facilitate 

preventing homelessness, such as flexible rental funds. More recently, we established additional 

services like money management programs, to ensure clients thrive in permanent housing. 

HomeStart has grown and adapted since its launch in 1994.  Our growth has consistently promoted 

the clear vision and agenda of housing solutions to end and prevent homelessness.

OUR CORE VALUES

We strive for excellence

• We are committed to seeing everyone housed
• We treat everyone with compassion and respect
• We pursue a fabric of diversity and equality
• Our objective is to empower people to live better lives