In Boston, the number of children and parents experiencing homelessness, poverty, and housing instability has surged due to rising living costs, a severe shortage of affordable housing and global humanitarian crises. Despite being the nation’s 28th largest city, Boston now has the third-highest homeless rate for families in the country. 

In response, the Commonwealth is curbing spiraling economic costs by limiting shelter stays for families and reducing flexible, social health and housing programs for poor families funded through Medicaid waiver programs. A coordinated response to the needs of children experiencing homelessness is more essential than ever as research shows they are at higher risk of behavioral health challenges, poor academic and employment outcomes and, ultimately, becoming homeless adults.

The ongoing difficulties for Boston families experiencing poverty and homelessness underscore the need for cross-sector coordination to help them achieve stability. By fostering a more integrated approach, we can improve systems of support for both children and parents that can ultimately alleviate the stress and instability of homelessness.

Funded by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Ascend at the Aspen Institute, the Child Homelessness Intercept Mapping and Engagement (CHIME) initiative is a multi-year effort to improve services for children experiencing homelessness with their families in Greater Boston.

From 2022-2024, CHIME convened 304 participants from 127 unique organizations (including 34% of those with lived experience being unhoused) to map local systems, develop priorities, and create action plans for six different areas. These areas were:

• Housing and Economic Assets
• Early Childhood Education
• K-12 Education
• Health and Well-being
• Post-secondary and Employment Pathways, and
• Social Capital

By the end of 2024, all six convenings had been completed, asset maps and action plans had been developed, and reports had been published and made publicly available. 

Starting in September 2024, CHIME partnered with Root Cause to plan for CHIME’s long-term sustainability. Root Cause interviewed key members of CHIME to learn about what had gone well and what had been challenging in the work completed to date. Root Cause also conducted research on different organizational models and then completed in-depth phone interviews with those organizations of greatest similarity and interest to CHIME to understand the pros and cons of each organizational model.

From March to September 2025, Root Cause will facilitate conversations with CHIME’s Executive Committee members and other key stakeholders to make plans for CHIME’s future work and long-term sustainability.