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Mainstream & Designated Housing Program

Comparison of the Mainstream and Designated Housing Programs

If you think you qualify for either click on title

Mainstream Fact Sheet

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is pleased to announce that a limited number of Housing Choice Voucher Program vouchers are available under the Mainstream Housing Program.  This program provides housing assistance to disabled individuals and families.

The Outreach and Referral Process

Initially, the Housing Choice Voucher waiting lists at each DHCD regional administering agency (RAA) are reviewed to determine if there may be eligible applicants already on the waiting list.  These applicants will be contacted about the program.  If outreach to the existing Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list does not result in enough eligible applicants to utilize all of the available vouchers, the regional administering agency will perform targeted outreach.

Each regional administering agency will perform targeted outreach to the following Human Service Commissions under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services: the Department of mental Health, the Department of mental Retardation: the Department of Public Health; the Massachusetts Rehabilitation commission; and, to other local agencies identified by each RAA that serves this population.

An information letter will be sent to representatives of the various Massachusetts Human Service Commissions and other local agencies, informing them of the availability of these vouchers; alerting them to the fact that their consumers may be eligible for this housing; and providing instructions for how to make a referral to this program.

To be eligible for the Mainstream Housing Program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. The head of household, spouse, or partner must be disabled.  If a child is the only family member with a disability, the family will not qualify for the program.  Applicants may be any age.  There is no limit to the number of household members.
2. The applicant meets a DHCD preference: a) homeless; b) living in substandard housing; c) involuntarily displaced; or, d) rent burdened.
3. The applicant must be eligible to participate in the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
4. The applicant will be able to immediately begin a housing search.

Please note that there is a regional residency preference for the Mainstream Housing Program.  This means that the regional administering agency will first select disabled applicants that live or work in their jurisdiction.

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Designated housing Program Fact Sheet

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is please to announce that a limited number of Housing Choice Vouchers are available under the Designated Housing Program.  This program provides federal rental assistance to disabled individuals and their partners.

The Outreach and Referral Process

Initial outreach is targeted to disable applicants on the waiting list at certain Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) developments that have designated all or a portion of its units exclusively for the elderly.  These applicants do not have to meet a DHCD preference. If outreach to disabled applicants on the MHFA waiting lists does not result in enough eligible applicants to utilize all of the available vouchers, the regional administering agency will review its current Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list.

Each regional administering agency will review its Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list to determine if there may be eligible applicants already on the waiting list.  These applicants will be contacted about the program.  If outreach to the existing Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list does not result in enough eligible applicants to utilize all of the available vouchers, the regional administering agency will perform targeted outreach.

Each regional administering agency will perform targeted outreach to the following Human Service Commissions under he Executive Office of Health and Human Services: the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Mental Retardation; the Department of  Public Health: the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission; and, to other local agencies identified by each RAA that serves this population.

An information letter will be sent to representatives of the various Massachusetts Human Service Commissions and other local agencies informing them of the availability of these vouchers; alerting them to the fact that their consumers maybe eligible for this housing; and providing instructions for how to make a referral to this program.

To be eligible for the Designated Housing program, applicants must meet the following criteria.

1. The head of household, spouse, or partner is disabled.

2. Applicants must be less than 62 years of age.

3. With the exception of applicants from the MHFA waiting lists, all other applicants must meet a DHCD preference: 

   1. Homeless
   2. Living in substandard housing
   3. involuntarily
   4. rent burdened.
      
      
4. The applicant must be eligible to participate in the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
5. The applicant will be able to immediately begin housing search.
6. The family must qualify for a 0 or 1 BR unit, which effectively limits the household size to 2 members and does not include children