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Somerville council hears case for more permanent supportive housing

2445676 · February 27, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A statewide housing advocate told the Somerville City Council that permanent supportive housing is a proven way to reduce homelessness and health care costs, and urged the city to plan and form partnerships now so it can move quickly when funding becomes available.

The Somerville City Council on Feb. 25 heard a presentation on expanding permanent supportive housing from Joyce Tabon, CEO of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance and a Somerville resident.

Tabon told the council supportive housing combines permanent, deeply affordable housing with voluntary, on-site or closely coordinated services and follows a “housing first” model. She said evidence across Massachusetts shows supportive housing reduces emergency health care use and results in high housing retention rates — typically about 85% at one to two years — while…

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