Homelessness

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Overview

The City of Newton is committed to assisting people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness through its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program.

If you are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness, please contact our Grantees for assistance (see below) or visit the City's Housing Assistance & Eviction Diversion webpage.

Emergency Solutions Grant

Annually, the City receives funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH), enacted into law on May 20, 2009. The ESG program funds eligible activities that enable communities to prevent homelessness and ensure that homeless individuals and families are rapidly re-housed and move toward independent living.

The ESG program provides funding to:

Engage homeless individuals and families living on the street;
Improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
Help operate these shelters;
Provide essential services to shelter residents;
Rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and
Prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless.

Distribution of Funds

Newton Housing and Community Development Division staff annually issues a notice of availability of ESG funds for the fiscal year. Funds are awarded to nonprofit agencies through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing programs.

The RFP Review Committee - consisting of representatives from Newton Department Health and Human Services, Newton Department of Planning and Development, Balance of State Continuum of Care (MA Department of Housing and Community Development, and former Brookline-Newton-Waltham-Watertown (BNWW) Continuum of Care social service providers (non-ESG applicants) - will present an allocation recommendation to the Planning and Development Board, who will then make a recommendation to the Mayor. The Mayor will make final decisions regarding the distribution of grant funds to applicants. Grants are awarded to agencies who have demonstrated an outstanding capacity to meet documented needs.

FY2025 ESG RFP: The ESG program is intended to fund services that prevent homelessness and enable homeless individuals and families to move toward stabilization. Approximately $151,700 in ESG funding will be available for the three eligible components: emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing. Applicants must be a certified 501(c)(3) organization. Applications are available online as of January 3rd, 2024. They can be accessed here.
Applicants will need to register on Neighborly Software with an email address and password. The application will be accessible after registering and logging in. Technical assistance on the ESG program, mandatory for new applicants, is available by appointment. Please schedule your appointment by contacting Sharon Cullins at scullins@newtonma.gov. Appointments must be made by 12:00 P.M. on January 10, 2024.

FY2024 ESG Recipients

Grantee	Project	Scope	Grant Amount
Brookline Community Mental Health Center 41 Garrison Road, Brookline (617) 277-8107 info@brooklinecenter.org	Homelessness Prevention	Funds will support individuals and families at-risk of homelessness through rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.	$27,290.00
	Rapid Re-housing	Funds will support homeless individuals and families through rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.	$26,460.00
Community Day Center of Waltham 16 Felton Street, Waltham (781) 392-6311 director@communitydaycenter.org	Integrated Day and Seasonal Night Programs	Funds will integrate intensive case management services in a drop-in daytime program as well as in a seasonal night program for those individuals struggling with chronic homelessness.	$43,180.00
The Second Step, Inc. 617-965-3999 resources@thesecondstep.org	Residential Shelter Program	Funds will provide a safe, supportive space to transition from shelter to permanent housing where they will receive intensive support services that align with their self-identified goals and needs.	$30,070.00
REACH Beyond Domestic Violence Hotline: 1(800) 899-4000	Emergency Shelter Operations	Funds will support REACH's shelter operations.	$25,060.00

Total ESG Funding:			$152,060.00

Additional Resources

Balance of State Continuum of Care

In December of 2016, the Brookline-Newton-Waltham-Watertown (BNWW) Continuum of Care (CoC), previously led by the City of Newton, merged with the Massachusetts Balance of State (BoS). The BoS, under the supervision of the Department of Housing and Community Development, implements the continuum's homelessness strategy across 80+ members communities. As a member community, the City of Newton actively collaborates and coordinates with the BoS through the ESG allocation process and planning efforts.

The BoS combines state funds with federal funds obtained from HUD through an annual competitive application to provide homeless assistance services and supported housing programs for primarily long-term homeless individuals and families with one or more disabilities. In addition, BoS manages the Coordinated Entry process to facilitate the process of assessing the housing needs of individuals experiencing homelessness and meeting those housing needs.

Contact Information

For more information on the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program, please contact Sharon Culins, Community Development Planner, at scullins @newtonma.gov

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