Housing & Shelter for Families

The Friendly House Family Shelter & Scattered Sites Program is a temporary emergency shelter program providing short-term housing, extensive housing search and services to help families to improve their financial well-being and independence. Two large congregate shelter sites and 41 set-aside apartments allow us to serve families with children and expectant parents who are homeless. All of the families we serve are supported with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and are referred directly.

Emergency Shelter Services

• 24-hour staffing
• Housing Search
• Case Management
• Life Skill Training
• Parenting Support
• Advocacy

IHN provides shelter to families who are experiencing homelessness and who do not qualify for state-funded Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter. The IHN model works in partnership with the local faith community, inviting congregations of any and all faiths to support our work with both financial contributions and volunteer hours. Our program also works with colleges, other groups, and individual community member volunteers and gives people the opportunity to become involved, whether it be to engage with families in the shelter, work around our property, donate needed supplies, or help run events to raise funds.

For more information, or to apply for shelter, please visit the IHN website.

Transitional Housing for Families

Our Transitional program is comprised of 40 multi-bedroom apartments dispersed throughout the city of Worcester. To be eligible for this housing, families must be homeless, and referred from shelter through the State of Massachusetts’ Continuum of Care process. Families live in these units for a maximum of 24 months, with the goal of securing permanent housing. Staff work individually with each family on housing search and surmounting challenges and obstacles the family is encountering (transportation, schooling, health, income, etc).

Supportive Family Housing

Our Supportive Housing program is comprised of 32 multi-bedroom apartments scattered across the city of Worcester. All 32 of these units are reserved for families in which the head of household has a documented disability, and 16 of the 32 units are set aside for those families who have been chronically homeless. Supportive housing referrals are accepted through the Massachusetts Continuum of Care process. Case managers provide long term and ongoing support to these families in order to help them maintain their housing.