Case Study: Supporting Low-Threshold Housing with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston

As part of the City of Boston’s effort to relocate chronically homeless individuals from the encampment at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard (Mass and Cass), CCA was approached by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to create a first-of-its-kind temporary housing community on the former Shattuck Hospital campus in Jamaica Plain. 

CCA is managing 18 cottages, or low-threshold housing, serving up to 25 guests, providing an array of human services to this vulnerable population, including medical, substance use support, recovery coach services and support, behavioral health services and housing navigation with the goal of assisting guests with more permanent housing solutions. 

The housing units/cottages are private, lockable sleeping cabins, each equipped with climate control and storage for possessions. The majority of the units are for individuals, while five can accommodate two people. 

CCA is partnering with Eliot Community Human Services to provide expertise in the Housing First model, behavioral health, substance use disorders and recovery support. CCA is also collaborating with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. 

Specific services being offered to guests include: 

• 24/7 nursing
• Behavioral health services 
• Onsite medical services and access to primary care 
• Recovery coach support services
• Intensive housing-search and transition support to long-term housing placements
• Pharmacy services and medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
• Onsite security 
• Once guests are placed in permanent housing, services will be continued to ensure continuity of care and long-term support

Housing specialists are supporting guests in obtaining necessary documentation and identifying housing options to transition guests to permanent housing. Additionally, CCA and Eliot Community Human Services are offering continued substance use disorder and behavioral health support through the transition and once permanently placed.