Hampden County and City of Springfield homeless prevention programs.
There are homeless prevention programs for tenants, homeowners, and the currently homeless in the city of Springfield and county of Hampden. The background as well as current situation of the family (or individual) will determine what type of resource is made available to them. But there will be some form of assistance. Examples of the Rapid Rehousing and Homeless Prevention in Hampden County includes the following.
Renters – They can be given legal aid, landlord mediation, rehousing (to a cheaper home), or cash grants for paying rental arrears.
Homeowners – Free foreclosure counseling, information on state of Massachusetts and federal government mortgage modification programs, mediation, and referrals to HUD counseling.
Homeless – Assistance includes emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing placement, and money to pay for deposits or first month’s rent.
Most of the residents of Hampden County seeking help fall into a category above. Various non-profits as well as government agencies offer support, including Springfield Partners for Community Action, Friends of the Homeless, and HAP Housing.
If there is some other housing need of the family, then additional options can be explored. Those tend to include everything from section 8 HUD vouchers to housing for the disabled, HUD VASH for veterans, and others.
Details on programs in city of Springfield area and county
Those who lease their home/apartment are considered to be renters. With the cost of housing (namely rent) increasing at rapid clips and often faster then wages, many tenants need some form of assistance. They can be given a few forms of support, and they include the following.
-Cash grants to pay for expenses, including any energy bill, rent due to the landlord, or other fees.
-Landlord and tenant mediation can be arranged as part of the eviction help in the Hampden County region as part of MHA of Greater Springfield.
-Free pro-bono attorneys will represent the client in housing court, in which they will provide eviction defense services. Find other free lawyer services in Massachusetts.
Any type of cash assistance is rare. In almost all cases, the non-monetary options will be explored first. This includes services such as mediation as well as legal aid. In addition, the low income family will be given information on how to help themselves with their housing needs. Which is a form of self-empowerment. Those topics touch on budgeting as well as employment.
Homeless prevention also assists families who own a property, or homeowners. Financial aid is very rare for those individuals. Much of the support is part of HUD counseling services. This is when the homeowner meets with a counselor, often for free. Often the bank or lender is brought into the picture as well. Together they work on a solution to any delinquent mortgage, insurance, or property tax issue.
Hampden County homeless can sign up for, or register for rapid rehousing services with groups like Catholic Charities. A number of different solutions may be given to them as well. The first thing is to try to ensure they are safe, warm, and well fed. This is where the shelter comes into play. Note when all of the overnight shelters are full, then free motel or hotel vouchers may be used by the homeless individual; though that form of support is rare.
Once the homeless individual is stabilized (into a shelter or somewhere safe) then the next step is addressing the cause of the event. Everything from employment to debt reduction, counseling, and more is available. The goal is to get the client on the path to self-sufficiency as well as stability.
Information on applying for eviction or foreclosureŽ prevention in Hampden County
The assistance is arranged by multiple organizations, many of which partner together. They include everyone from charities in the community to Department of Human Services as well as the county government. There are in fact dozens of groups that may participate in the various homeless prevention programs in Hampden County. Anyone that is facing eviction, struggling with their mortgage, or is currently (or at risk of) being homeless can dial (413) 452-0605, 413-263-6500 or 413 734-5376 for information.
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