Hearth Outreach Program

 

Track Sponsor: Tufts Health Plan Foundation

Founded: 1991

Current Budget: $324,000

Website: www.hearth-home.org

Need

Elders are a vulnerable, but often overlooked, segment of the homeless population. Homeless elders often have physical, mental, social, and emotional problems that compound financial troubles and contribute to chronic homelessness.

  • There are over 670,000 homeless people at a given time in the United States, including 15,000 in Massachusetts and 3,800 in Boston. About a third of Boston’s homeless adult shelter population is over 50 years old.
  • In Boston, annual median housing costs are $16K, while the annual median income for a single elder is only $13K. One in five elders in Boston lives below the poverty line.
  • 32% of U.S. retirees have less than $10,000 in savings. With little or no safety net, a health crisis or other problem can compound financial difficulties and lead to chronic elder homelessness.
  • Across the United States, in five different major metropolitan areas, the percentage of the homeless population over the age of 50 has tripled from 11% to 32% since 1990, and the percentage continues to climb.

About

Hearth Outreach is a program of Hearth Inc., the only organization in the country with a sole focus and comprehensive approach to ending elder homelessness. Outreach staff canvas 10 Boston homeless shelter programs weekly to identify and place homeless elders in permanent housing. Before, during, and after placement, they help to ensure that their elder clients are able to maintain long-term housing by providing direct assistance to identify and obtain safe, affordable housing; facilitating access to physical health, mental
health, financial, legal, and other critical social services; stabilizing them within their homes; and helping them build social and community networks. The program seeks to reach all people ages 50 or above who are currently, or may be at risk for, living on Boston’s streets and in homeless shelters.

Key Accomplishments

  • Hearth Outreach serves over 250 homeless elders annually and has dozens of referral and service partners.
  • Since 1995, the Team has placed nearly 1,000 elders in permanent housing and assisted over 3,000 elders.
  • Hearth Inc. has received 14 different local and national awards, including the National Leadership Award from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Join the Cause

In-Kind Support

  • Additional Board members with an interest in supporting the Outreach program
  • Cell phones and monthly service for Outreach workers
  • IT support to enhance existing data management system
  • Outreach office space in Boston’s South End

Financial Support

$40,000 One case manager to serve 50 more elders
$5,000
 One-time move in cost (basic necessities for 20 elders)
$1,500 One laptop computer

Learn More

Want to learn more about the Hearth Outreach Program?
View their full Social Innovation Forum prospectus here.

Contact Information

Jane Erickson
Outreach Director
617-369-1559
jerickson@hearth-home.org

Hearth Outreach Program from the Social Innovation Forum on Vimeo: