Pine Street Inn
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Expansion Goal

Homelessness is one of the most complex and challenging social problems in the United States.

Pine Street Inn has crafted an ambitious plan to focus its efforts on permanent supportive housing. With 40 years of experience serving homeless individuals, 25 years of developing permanent supportive housing, 10 years of providing job training/asset development programs and recent emphasis on prevention efforts, Pine Street Inn is extraordinarily well-positioned to use its knowledge, experience and success to dramatically reduce the number of men and women living on the streets or in shelters.

In January 2008, the Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness, comprised of 30 elected and appointed officials and select nonprofit leaders from around the state, released a five-year plan to end homelessness in the Commonwealth. It proposed to redirect resources from emergency shelter to permanent housing, homelessness prevention and asset development efforts.

Lyndia Downie, Pine Street’s President and Executive Director, and a leading expert on the issue of homelessness, was one of six gubernatorial appointees to the commission.

The report acknowledged what we all know to be true: people who lack a permanent address have difficulty applying for jobs, their children are not provided with a stable educational environment, and they utilize a disproportionate amount of emergency room care, law enforcement resources and public health intervention.

To address this complex problem, Pine Street Inn plans to launch a major initiative to fund projects that will provide solutions to homelessness, savings to taxpayers and restored dignity to men and women who have lost everything.


Key Components


Affordable Housing Development and Support

Pine Street will develop more than 130 additional units of housing over the next two years. Pine Street began development of housing units in 1984 and currently owns and manages nearly 550 units in 32 sites throughout Boston and Brookline. The average income of residents is less than $10,000 and rent is calculated to be 30% of their income. The supportive housing model employed by Pine Street, incorporating case managers and house managers, has proven extremely effective in keeping individuals housed long-term.

Pine Street’s houses are generally staffed by house managers who handle maintenance and upkeep, and case managers who work closely with tenants on a comprehensive plan that encourages each individual to reach his/her potential. This plan may include accessing health services, job training or mental health resources.

Collaboration Leads to Innovation

Pine Street Inn recently concluded a six-month collaboration with the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), a national consulting group with expertise in program planning and advocacy to address homelessness, to review current programs and provide recommendations for service improvements going forward. Pine Street will launch pilot programs to test and evaluate the most promising new programs: one to test a rapid re-housing strategy called Critical Time Intervention, a case management approach that employs a tiered-system of care to promote quicker progress by those in shelter, and another to identify and support individuals who are ready and able to move beyond Pine Street housing.