Our first goal at Father Bill’s & MainSpring is to prevent homelessness. We provide a range of services and programs designed to help families and individuals at risk of becoming homeless avoid shelter and remain in their homes.

This model saves public money because sheltering people ultimately is the costliest option, similar to how preventative health care can help patients avoid expensive visits to the ER. More importantly, our services spare people who are struggling financially from the trauma and heartache that often accompany losing their home.

If you’re in need of any of the services listed below, visit our Get Help page to see how we may be able to help.

Individuals

Tenancy Preservation Program
Our staff help individuals with disabilities (physical or mental health) who are at risk of being evicted from their current housing. We intervene on their behalf in Housing Court, mediating disputes with landlords, providing progress reports to Housing Court judges, and directing tenants to outside services that may help them. The program serves individuals in the following Housing Courts: Plymouth, Canton, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton, and Hyannis.

Diversion from Shelter
Emergency shelter is – and should be – a last resort. Father Bill’s & MainSpring works with every individual who comes to our doors to find positive alternatives to emergency shelter. Our housing workers meet with each individual and conduct extensive interviews to help explore alternatives to shelter.

Families

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We align our resources and programs to help families avoid shelter. Our staff help them to maintain or identify new permanent housing, obtain employment, and achieve greater stability.

Strategic Prevention Initiative
In June 2016 we launched the Strategic Prevention Initiative with the goal to help families avoid shelter and improve retention of housing and employment. The initiative includes a Prevention team based out of the Brockton Department of Transitional Assistance.

Tenancy Preservation Program
Many of the disabled individuals at risk of being evicted from their current housing are parents who have children and other dependent family members at home. We intervene on their behalf in Housing Court, mediating disputes with landlords, providing reports to Housing Court judges, and directing families to special services they may need. The program serves individuals in the following Housing Courts: Plymouth, Canton, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton, and Hyannis.

Diversion from Shelter
Father Bill’s & MainSpring helps connect families who are in a housing crisis to solutions that enable them to remain in their home or find and alternative to entering shelter. For example, some families may be eligible for temporary cash assistance for rent from the state through programs like Emergency Assistance or HomeBASE, or other sources. As long as their current housing situation is safe, we help them find and secure the best options to avoid shelter.

Veterans

Veterans may access the other Individual and Family homelessness prevention programs from Father Bill’s & MainSpring, but the program below is targeted specifically for them.

Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF)
We help veterans avoid homelessness by connecting them with SSVF benefits, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and overseen by Volunteers of America. The SSVF program provides temporary financial assistance to eligible veterans for expenses such as rent, utility, and child care. These benefits are aimed to help veterans retain their current housing or find new housing quickly.