September 20, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
Preventing Homelessness and Promoting Housing Stability: A Comparative Analysis, by Donna Haig Friedman, Jennifer Raymond, Kimberly Puhala, Tatjana Meschede, Julia Tripp, and Mandira Kala, compares three homelessness-prevention programs in Massachusetts. Each of the programs has given money to nonprofit and government agencies, which then processed applications from households and meted out money. The Homeless Prevention Initiative supported 4,315 households with an average of $737 each. Rental Assistance to Families in Transition provided 2,890 households with about $1,707 each, and a related program, Rental Assistance to Families in Transition Plus, gave 91 households about $1,692 apiece. The report compares the demographics of the people served, the cost effectiveness and results of the programs, the organizational approaches each effort took, what factors influenced housing stability, successes and disappointments, and other observations. Based on the study’s conclusions, the report also makes recommendations for the government, grant makers, and nonprofit groups.
Publisher: Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington Street, 10th Floor, Boston, Mass. 02116; (617) 338-1700; fax (617) 338-1604; info@tbf.org; http://www.tbf.org; 60 pages; available free for download on the organization’s Web site.
