Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Department endeavors to provide trauma informed culturally competent emergency housing services. A form of a social safety net, the goal of this program is to: 1.) Connect eligible residents with existing resources, while monitoring outcomes and achieving accountability; 2.) Provide a social safety net for residents that are ineligible for typical housing resources, due to household characteristics, immigration status, service provider capacity, or other reasons; 3.) Deliver emergency housing, intensive housing search, and shelter services to vulnerable clients; 4.) Assist clients with overcoming barriers to accessing shelter and new housing through client centered advocacy, housing search, and coordination with local partners and stakeholders; 5.) Integrate the provision of clinical and non-clinical mental health services into the provision of housing services to address the trauma of displacement and support clients’ overall, long term wellbeing; 6.) Facilitate the provision of healthcare, food, economic, and other wrap around services by linking clients with existing resources, service providers, and opportunities. Decades of structural and environmental racism and systemic economic marginalization compounded the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chelsea, making residents more vulnerable to contracting the COVID-19 virus and experiencing adverse health impacts, as well as exacerbating existing economic inequities and housing insecurity. In the wake of the pandemic, staggering inflation and rising housing costs, as well as the propensity of investor activity in the City, have further threatened low-income residents ability to remain safely housed in their communities. The City has experienced a ceaseless surge of legal and illicit eviction cases affecting older adults, young people, individuals, and families. The precipitous cost of housing, rising cost of utilities, and the exclusionary barriers many residents face to securing new housing in the City portend displacement for households facing housing or economic insecurity. Given the City’s large and diverse population of immigrants, displacement from Chelsea also affects residents’ connectivity to family and community networks, social supports, and culturally and linguistically relevant services. The City is seeking emergency housing services to support residents facing homelessness and imminent threats to their housing stability, in coordination with the Department and other local service providers and stakeholders.
