History | Four Root Causes of Homelessness | Board of Directors

Founded in 1983, Citizens for Adequate Housing Inc., has been a leader in the fight to end homelessness serving families from the North Shore and eastern Massachusetts.   Families facing an emergency need of housing have found a temporary home at our Inn Between shelter.  Here families are supported as they work to end their homelessness.  Our Inn Transition shelter provides a sober-living transitional housing program supporting families as they continue to build on their sobriety, recovery and find permanent housing.  The Communities Land Trust develops and operates affordable housing, and currently manages sixteen apartments in five buildings. At Citizens for Adequate Housing (CAH), we believe that the way to help the homeless is to not only provide a place to stay but offer tools empowering families to find permanent solutions ending their homelessness while efforts as we work addressing the four roots causes of homelessness.

          Letter From The Executive Director

Dear Supporters of CAH:

The generosity of our donors, and the dedicated work of our staff, partners and volunteers have enabled us to accomplish so much over the last two years: The Board of Directors and the Executive team are pleased to report that we have:

• Provided housing, services and stability for over 100 families, and have given them a new chance to hope and dream for 150 children;
• Successfully changed our Inn Transition program from a 9-month recovery program to a sober-living, transitional housing program serving 8 families;
• Increased emergency shelter space for 4 additional families traumatized by homelessness;
• Improved client rooms at the Inn Between with freshly painted walls, new beds and other furnishings;
• Weather increases in such essential expenses as heating costs and employee health insurance;
• Successfully raised over $2.6million to purchase and renovate the Inn Transition property at 42 Washington St. Peabody;

•  Moved our administrative offices out of our living space and into a separate building to more efficiently manage our growing programs and free up space for more families.

In 2008 and the coming years CAH will:

• Continue to tirelessly work to end homelessness using advocacy and public education tools;
• Complete the renovations and changes to our Inn Transition, increasing our shelter capacity allowing us to assist 3 additional families and improve the living conditions for each family, helping to eliminate the shame of living in a shelter.   
• For  families needing longer term services, purchase and develop 8-10 transitional housing units.
• Preserve the Inn Between Shelter for as long as families remain homeless.
• Purchase one or more new Communities Land Trust properties to increase the number of affordable rental units;
• Begin providing home ownership opportunities to low income families through the Communities Land Trust model;

We want to extend our sincere gratitude to our donors, staff and volunteers as well as applaud the efforts of our families.. Together we have been able to accomplish so much and have been able to build the resources, experience and infrastructure to accomplish so much more.

Sincerely,

Nancy Crowder
Executive Director