Mayor Menino, The Home for Little Wanderers Celebrate Grand Opening of Roxbury Village
Boston, MA – July 12, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Thomas M. Menino, First Lady Diane Patrick, and community partners joined The Home for Little Wanderers today for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the Home’s new child and family service agency program, Roxbury Village. After a year-long renovation, Roxbury Village will now provide stable housing and support for young adults aged 18-22 in Roxbury. This program is designed to help young men and women who are about to be discharged from state systems of care, have already left the system, or are currently at risk of being homeless.
“Preventing homelessness has been a keystone of my administration,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “Roxbury Village is a unique program that will provide housing and important services to help some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. Through partnerships like this, we can support youth coming out of foster care as they transition to adulthood and navigate the path toward independent living and self-sufficiency.”
In addition to stable housing, Roxbury Village offers intensive services and support coupled with community connections to help residents build the resources and skills they need to become self-sufficient, productive adults.
The ribbon cutting celebration took place today at 24 Alpine Street in Roxbury, a formerly foreclosed property purchased by the Department of Neighborhood Development, which was then conveyed to and renovated by the developer L. Duane Jackson of Alinea Capital Partners LLC. Roxbury Village’s site on Alpine Street will provide three apartments for nine young people working towards independence. The Roxbury Village program will be run by The Home for Little Wanderers, while Alinea Capital Partners will manage and maintain the building. This housing project is a collaboration between the Home for Little Wanderers, the State of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston.
Roxbury Village on Alpine Street received $515,000 of funding from the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development, $233,322 of Neighborhood Stabilization Funding (NSP) from the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), and loan from Century Bank for a year-long renovation project for the site. The Home for Little Wanderers also raised additional funds from private sources for rent, food and furnishing expenses. Other community partners and supporters include of this program are WCVB-TV, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, Anderson Insulation, Icynene, Inc., NEWPRO, and O’LYN Roofing Contractors.
About Roxbury Village
Roxbury Village was developed to expand upon The Home for Little Wanderers’ effectiveness in addressing the issues that accompany aging out of state care, especially the issue of housing and homelessness. The mission of Roxbury Village is to provide the coaching, counseling, and career and educational planning that these youth never received from a family and that are essential to helping young adults transition successfully to independent living. The program also provides transitional housing for nine men and women at one time.
About The Home for Little Wanderers
The Home for Little Wanderers is the nation’s oldest and one of New England’s largest non-profit child and family service agencies. The mission of The Home is to ensure the healthy behavioral, emotional, social and educational development and physical well-being of children and families living in at-risk circumstances. The Home for Little Wanderers does this through a series of integrated programs that include early childhood services, special education, therapeutic residential treatment, adoption, intensive foster care, clinical and family support in homes, schools, hospitals and clinics, and college and independent living preparation for youth who have aged out of state care. For more information, visit www.thehome.org.
Contact:
Kerry O’Brien
KOBrien.dnd (at) cityofboston (dot) gov
