Public Policy Advocacy
Amplifying the voices of the families we serve.
Through One Family's public policy efforts, we advocate for impactful anti-poverty and anti-homelessness initiatives and resources, with a particular focus on preventing family homelessness before it occurs. One Family program participants, alumni, Board members, staff, and supporters engage directly with policymakers to advance these advocacy goals.
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Advocacy Agenda & Resources
To learn more about our legislative priorities, download our full advocacy agenda here:
​​Do you need help finding (or keeping) safe housing? You can find a list of free housing information and resources here:
If you'd like an overview of some of the key public policy processes involved in this advocacy work, please click these buttons:
For an overview of voting and voter registration in Massachusetts, click this button:
Public Policy Achievements
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​Working collaboratively as a member of the Healthy Families Tax Credits Coalition, One Family has been part of the successful ongoing effort to significantly increase the Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit and the Massachusetts Child & Family Tax Credit. These policy changes are putting money directly in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of families with low and moderate incomes, helping them to make ends meet while they work to achieve self-sufficiency.
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By engaging our program participants in our Public Policy efforts, One Family has supported the leadership development of dozens of parents across the Commonwealth, equipping them with advocacy skills that they can now use in ongoing efforts to make positive change.
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Led by State Representatives Kay Khan & Jack Lewis and State Senator Jamie Eldridge, our supporters in the Massachusetts Legislature have successfully advocated for including funding for the One Family Scholars program in the MA state budget seven years in a row. The Commonwealth's annual investment in the One Family Scholars program has increased by 60% over this time period.
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Spearheaded by State Senator Michael Brady, the Massachusetts Legislature invested over $500,000 of federal pandemic relief funds in One Family's Credential to Career Coaching (C2C) program.
Video highlighting the work of One Family's Advocacy Team.
Recent Testimony & Other Documents
​​As part of our advocacy efforts, One Family program participants, staff, and Board members hold in-person meetings with legislators, engage in email advocacy, provide testimony on proposed legislation, and more. Below are examples of One Family's recent written testimony; you can also watch videos of Advocacy Team members providing legislative testimony.
Recommendations for reducing family homelessness and alleviating pressure on the shelter system
Recommendations to the Special Commission on Poverty in the Commonwealth.
​Testimony in support of Governor Healey's Affordable Homes Act, with recommendations for making the legislation even stronger.
Testimony in support of legislation to combat hunger among college students and their families, and in support of legislation to restore the Commonwealth's investment in public higher education.
Testimony in support of legislation to protect families from eviction, build more affordable homes, and reduce families' housing cost burden.
Testimony submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Higher Education in support of H.1277, An Act ensuring students' access to academic transcripts.
Testimony submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Housing on 3 bills:
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H.1312/S.856, An Act providing upstream homelessness prevention assistance to families, youth, and adults;
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H.1297/S.890, An Act promoting housing stability for families by strengthening the HomeBASE program; and
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H.1301/S.868, An Act to eliminate asset limits for homeless shelters.
One Family testimony in support of H.359/S.180, An Act to End Housing Discrimination in the Commonwealth.
One Family testimony in support of three bills which would help prevent eviction and homelessness, and protect families that have previously been evicted from being "marked for life" in the housing market.
Sign-on letter asking the Massachusetts Legislature to remove the requirement that a tenant receive a Notice to Quit from their landlord before applying for RAFT (Rental Assistance for Families in Transition).
Sign-on letter in support of measures that will help end food insecurity on Massachusetts college campuses.
Sign-on letter in support of an increased investment in child care for student-parents through the CCAMPIS program (Child Care Access Means Parents In School).
Facts on Family Homelessness
The State of Family Homelessness
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On any given day, about 50,000 families with about 95,000 children experience homelessness in the U.S. (i) This number does not include countless families experiencing homelessness while living doubled-up or in campgrounds, cars, and other unsuitable shelter.
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Each day in Massachusetts, there are about 7,500 families with well over 12,000 children experiencing homelessness in the Commonwealth's emergency shelter system. (ii) Thousands more experience family homelessness living doubled-up, couch-surfing, or in campgrounds and cars. Over the course of a full year, these many forms of homelessness will impact countless other children and parents in our Commonwealth.
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During the 2019-2020 school year, Massachusetts public schools identified 22,648 students experiencing homelessness. (iii) This data captures very few children under age six, who comprise half of all children experiencing homelessness (iv) - leading to an estimated 44,000 children experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts over the course of the 2019-2020 school year.
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At last count, 160,000 families across Massachusetts were on waiting lists to access public housing (v)
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The Causes of Family Homelessness
The primary causes of family homelessness are a lack of affordable housing and a lack of family-sustaining jobs for parents with limited higher education. Families often fall into homelessness because of an unforeseen financial challenge, such as a death in the family, loss of a job, domestic violence, or unexpected medical bill, creating a situation where the family cannot maintain housing.
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The Effects of Family Homelessness
Children experiencing homelessness often experience disrupted school and educational development. Children experiencing homelessness are also:
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2-4 times more likely to have mental health problems requiring clinical evaluation (vi)
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Twice as likely as other children to have a learning disability, repeat a grade, or be suspended from school (vii)
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Twice as likely to experience hunger (vii)
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Less likely to have adequate access to medical and dental care, with increased incidence of malnutrition, exposure to environmental toxins, and chronic illness (vii)
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More vulnerable to developmental delays, poor cognitive outcomes, and depression (viii)
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There are significant increases in rates of depression among mothers who experience homelessness (45% to 85%) compared to all low-income mothers (40% to 60%) and to all individuals living in poverty (25%) (ix)
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i. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress. (December 2022)
ii. The State House News Service reported that as of October 2023, there were over 7,000 families with about 23,000 family members (roughly half of whom are children) in the Commonwealth's Emergency Assistance shelter system. Sam Drysdale, State House News Service, "Healey: Mass. Will No Longer Guarantee Shelter In 'New Phase' Of Crisis," 10/16/2023. Subsequently, the number of families in the Emergency Assistance shelter system reached the 7,500-family cap established by the Healey Administration. Sam Drysdale, State House News Service, "Shelter Cap Hit With Enrollment Of 37 New Families," 11/9/2023.
iii. https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Student-Homelessness-in-America-2021.pdf
iv. https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/child-homelessness-growing-crisis
v. Lisinski, Chris. "Secretary Warns "Time is Not Our Friend" to Address Housing Shortage". Statehouse News Service. 2019.
vi. Bassuk, Richard, and Tsertsvadze. The Prevalence of Mental Illness in Homeless Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 2014.
vii. American Psychological Association. Effects of Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness on Children and Youth. 2018.
viii. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Ending Family Homelessness, Improving Outcomes for Children. 2016.
ix. Bassuk and Beardslee. Depression in Homeless Mothers: Addressing an Unrecognized Public Health Issue. 2014.
Learn More About Our Policy Advocacy
Interested in learning more about One Family's advocacy work and the topic of family homelessness, or interested in getting involved? Use the form below to contact our Public Policy team:
