NEWS

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $10 Million to Community-Based Housing and Nutrition Organizations

Jan 15, 2025

The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced it is awarding $10 million to 37 community-based organizations that provide housing and nutrition support services across the state.

The funds are intended to help awardees expand and enhance technology and operations to work effectively with MassHealth Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in order to provide health-related social needs (HRSN) services, such as housing and healthy food, to members as part of their overall health care. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that coordinate high-quality care for MassHealth members.

The funding comes as MassHealth makes a major shift in its approach to offering HRSN services for eligible members. As of January 1, 2025, MassHealth transitioned from a grant-based pilot HRSN program where ACOs chose which members could receive services to an approach where any eligible member must be offered the services their ACOs provide. MassHealth ACOs are required to offer at least one housing service and one nutrition service for eligible members and have contracted with housing and nutrition organizations as HRSN providers to deliver these new services.

For some community-based organizations with expertise in housing and nutrition, becoming Medicaid providers requires a foundational shift in business operations and technological capacity. To support this transition, MassHealth is recommending entering into grant agreements with 37 organizations across the state with funds to help organizations successfully operate as and in the future become HRSN Providers:

  • About Fresh, Inc. (Boston)
  • Action For Boston Community Development, Inc. (Boston)
  • AgeSpan, Inc. (Lawrence)
  • Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (Boston)
  • Boston Medical Center (Boston)
  • Center for Human Development Inc. (Springfield)
  • Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Inc. (Worcester)
  • Commonwealth Land Trust, Inc. (Boston)
  • Community Care Cooperative, Inc. (Boston)
  • Community Counseling of Bristol County, Inc. (Taunton)
  • Community Servings, Inc. (Boston)
  • Community Teamwork, Inc. (Lowell)
  • Elder Services of Worcester Area, Inc. (Worcester)
  • Eliot Community Human services, Inc. (Lexington)
  • FamilyAid Boston, Inc. (Boston)
  • Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. (Lynn)
  • Growing Places Garden Project, Inc. (Leominster)
  • Housing Families, Inc. (Malden)
  • Just Roots, Inc. (Greenfield)
  • Justice For Housing, Inc. (Boston)
  • Lynn Shelter Association, Inc. (Lynn)
  • Maverick Landing Community Services, Inc. (Boston)
  • Mill City Grows, Inc. (Lowell)
  • NeighborWorks Housing Solutions (Quincy)
  • Old Colony YMCA Wellness Services, Inc. (Brockton)
  • Open Sky Community Services, Inc. (Worcester)
  • Project Bread– The Walk for Hunger, Inc. (Boston)
  • Revitalize Community Development Corporation (Springfield)
  • South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. (Framingham)
  • Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts, Inc. (Worcester)
  • The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Inc. (Chicopee)
  • The Greater Boston Food Bank, Inc. (Boston)
  • The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (Lynn)
  • The Young Men’s Christian Association of Attleboro & Norton (Attleboro)
  • Urban Guild, Inc. (Boston)
  • Veterans Inc. (Worcester)
  • Way Finders, Inc. (Springfield)