Category: Uncategorized

Mass Union is thrilled to receive a grant from the Cummings Foundation!

Huge thanks to the Cummings Foundation for their support of public housing tenants in Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties as well as in Brookline, Wellesley, Needham and Quincy!

The Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants respectfully requests our Senators’ support for the following so that we, tenants in public housing, may live with the dignity we deserve.

• • Increase the Public Housing Operating Subsidy, Line Item 7004-9005.

 ASK: $153 million

 Cosponsor and support any amendment that increases this line item. Tenants in state-aided public housing live with mold, rats, bedbugs, broken elevators, sewage problems and more. Massachusetts can and MUST do better. We don’t deserve to live this way. Your help is crucial.

• • Provide more funding for the Access to Counsel Program, Line-item 0321-1800.

 ASK: $5 million

 Cosponsor and support any amendment that increases this line item. Public housing tenants facing eviction need your support. Sometimes, we face eviction because our rent was miscalculated, or we are trying to improve the conditions in our community. Your support for Access to Counsel will provide full representation for those of us who need it most.

• • Support Tenant Voice in Redevelopment.

 ASK: $350,000

 Mass Union is very grateful that the Affordable Homes Act provides protections for tenants undergoing redevelopment with private partners, including requiring that tenants be provided with Technical Assistance to help us navigate complicated deals. These protections are crucial. We are working to find funding sources for Technical Assistance for tenants so we may provide meaningful input into this process. Please stay tuned.

Applications are no longer being accepted for this position.

As we know, HUD is the federal agency dedicated to addressing our most pressing housing, community development and homelessness challenges and serves millions of renters, homeowners, and people experiencing homelessness.

Attempts by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to terminate at least half of all HUD employees, if successful, would be DISASTROUS for our communities.

Mass Union has signed a national letter to stop this. Read the full letter here, which will be finalized on March 11, 2025.

From the National Low Income Housing Coalition:

The Trump Administration is expected to terminate half of all employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This will decimate the agency and must not happen.

Tenants should contact their federal senators and representatives RIGHT AWAY and demand they protect HUD staff and programs!

Background

According to reports, the Trump administration will terminate half of all HUD employees. This will make it significantly harder for states and communities to access key federal resources used to:

• • • Provide rental assistance to help low-income households afford their homes.
    • Build and preserve affordable rental housing for low-income households.
    • Address and prevent homelessness, which has reached its highest level on record.
    • Operate and maintain public housing and other affordable housing for millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and families with young children.
    • Revitalize neighborhoods, promote economic development, and improve community facilities, including infrastructure and services in low-income communities.
    • Reform restrictive zoning and land use regulations that inflate housing costs.
    • Investigate and enforce fair housing and civil rights laws.
    • Rebuild housing and infrastructure after major disasters and mitigate future harm.

As a direct consequence, homeless shelters will close their doors, communities will stop construction on new projects to build housing and community centers, households receiving rental assistance will face immediate rent increases and evictions, and communities, families, and small businesses impacted by disasters will be unable to rebuild.

At a time when housing costs are far out of reach for renters and when homelessness has reached an all-time high, now is the time to strengthen federal investments in affordable housing and homelessness solutions.

In late January, the Trump administration directed all federal agencies, including HUD, to withhold all federal assistance investments – including essential HUD funds. After enormous pressure from advocates and congressional champions, the administration rescinded its directive after 48 hours. Now, President Trump is attempting to decimate HUD by terminating critically needed staff.

Take Action

Tenants must act urgently to protect HUD! Tell your members of Congress why HUD resources are critical to low-income families and communities and urge them to protect HUD programs and staff.

By the National Low Income Housing Coalition, February 10, 2025

The City of Boston launched an Access to Counsel Pilot Program in January to help families facing eviction, following the state legislature passing a statewide Access to Counsel Pilot Program in July 2024. Advocates hope that successful implementation of these pilot programs will lead to permanent and expanded funding – at the city and state levels – for legal counsel for tenants facing evictions.

The Boston program is being led by the City’s Office of Housing Stability in partnership with Boston Public Schools, FamilyAid Boston, and Greater Boston Legal Services. The Access to Counsel Pilot Program was established with $300,000 from the City’s FY25 annual operating budget; it is expected to assist at least 120 households in 2025. Boston Public School families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, who have long been connected to FamilyAid Boston through case management and wrap-around services, will now have access to full legal counsel when facing an eviction. The organizations implementing the program have a history of collaborating to support low-income households across the city. The pilot program funding expands their capacity to serve more households with children, thereby reducing educational disruptions, stabilizing family environments, and promoting long-term wellbeing. The pilot program is part of Boston’s comprehensive eviction prevention strategy, which also includes providing emergency rental assistance, housing search services, and an established presence at housing court to facilitate landlord-tenant mediation…

Read the Full Article!

On Friday, February 7, Mass Union hosted the National Low Income Housing Coalition at our policy committee meeting. Thank you to Lindsay Duvall for her informative presentation! We will post the recording of the presentation here when it is ready.

Stay up-to-date on our policy advocacy by joining our policy committee, which meets the first Friday of every month at 11am over Zoom. Email info@massunion.org to receive reminders. And, save the date for Public Housing Day at the Massachusetts State House! Now is the time to make our voices heard and protect and improve both state and federally funded public housing!

Resources

Download Lindsay’s Slides (PDF)

Links from the Chat:

• • Upcoming events
  • NLIHC Advocacy Toolkit
  • Take action on NLIHC policy priorities
  • New Law Protects Public Housing Tenants in Massachusetts Facing Redevelopment
  • Trump ordered the U.S. government to lower prices for Americans. Can he deliver?

As you may recall, Mass Union has been working with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) on a Public Housing Notice (PHN) to clarify the tenant participation regulations found in 760 CMR 6.09. We’re thrilled to say that the notice has been published! Click here to read it in full.

The PHN contains six pages of detailed guidance for Housing Authorities regarding their interactions with LTOs, as well as two Attachments. We recommend you discuss it with your LTO board or community, and also print a copy and share it with your LHA (after the holidays!).

Among other things, the PHN affirms the independence of LTOs. It states, “Once residents democratically elect officers to represent them on matters that impact them, the organization should be treated as independent of the LHA and autonomous, not an extension of the LHA.” The notice also affirms important practices regarding Tenant Participation Funds. Funds must be allocated based on the number of units the LTO represents, not on a reimbursement basis. In addition, at the end of the year “the LHA may not request that the LTO return unspent funds.” The notice also affirms that funds may be used to support quality of life, for example for community gardens, wellness classes, computer labs and more.

Huge thanks to Ben Stone, Chris Devore and Bill Halfpenny at EOHLC for their work on this PHN and for EOHLC’s commitment to tenant participation in general.

Additional thanks to Annette Duke and Megan Harding from MLRI, to the many tenants who provided input, and to Donald Hamilton, chair of the Policy Committee, for his steadfast leadership. We did it! Now on to 2025!

Values

1. 1. 1. Tenant Power – Power should be with the people; the tenants. This is key to everything.
      2. Democracy – We help tenants elect LTO boards and the Mass Union board is elected by our affiliates. We use the Dot Exercise to make decisions and train members to do so as well. Democracy also means that tenants must have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making that impacts their lives at all levels – the Housing Authority, the state, and the nation.
      3. Radical Inclusion – ALL tenants are welcome and crucial for our network, regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, age, language, citizenship, religion, or anything else. We take steps to ensure that all are welcome and included.
      4. Transparency – We share information with our affiliates, such as our budgets and decision-making processes. Our member LTOs do the same.
      5. Fairness – Everyone plays by the same rules. We create the rules together and enact them fairly. We oppose a system where certain tenants get special treatment by their LHAs, by Mass Union itself, or in any other context.
      6. Impact – We want real-world results. Public housing needs to be fixed. We want to see tangible improvements to the quality of life in public housing.
      7. Dignity – In everything we do, we strive to be kind and compassionate with each other. We treat each other with dignity, especially when the rest of the world does not.
      8. Unity – Once we reach a group decision, it is respected by all and we speak with one voice. We don’t have to be best friends, but we understand that in order to win change, we need each other. Spaghetti Power!

Vision

We envision…

…a world without homelessness, racism or classism;
~ Where housing is a human right,
~ Where all housing is safe, sanitary and dignified,
~ And where all people participate in the decision-making that impacts their lives.
…a Massachusetts where public housing is fully funded,
~ And that enhances and enforces tenant rights and protections.
… public housing communities that are safe, inclusive, cohesive and beautiful,
~ Where all tenants are informed, empowered, heard, respected, and valued.

Mission Statement

The Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants is a nonprofit run by tenants for tenants. Our mission is to build power and voice for tenants so that we may effectively improve public housing in Massachusetts.