Emergency Financial Housing Assistance Funds

Are you facing housing instability? Funds are available for rent, mortgage, and utility payments for eligible households.

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Making a gift to Way Finders supports hundreds of families working towards stable housing, employment, and a bright future.

News

Read about our developments, our clients, and more.

Homeownership & Financial Education

Way Finders helps people improve their finances and purchase their first home. Our housing counselors help every step of the way.

Support us.

With your help, Way Finders can provide the tools and guidance our neighbors need to avoid homelessness and live their best lives.

View our FY22 Annual Report.

To build and advocate for a thriving, equitable region? We help neighbors, transform communities, and reimagine trajectories.

Buying a home is a big step.

Way Finders is here to help first time homebuyers through the process, every step of the way.

Employment Support

Way Finders is an approved provider of programs that combine housing and employment services. The good news is these programs are easily and readily available. Thanks to these programs hundreds of people have more stable housing and jobs.

Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT)

The RAFT Program is a homelessness prevention program funded by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). RAFT provides short-term financial assistance to low-income families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

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Latest News

Welcome to our house—our cozy, colorful house

If ever a simple refrain could double as a powerful source of motivation, consider these words: “Our house.” Delivered by your 7-year-old son, who has accompanied you and your real estate agent to check out some listings—and is smitten with a cozy 1950s ranch with an expansive yard. In the words of Cristnely Rodriguez-De Aza, director of rental assistance operations at Way Finders: “My son Ozwald has been with me every step of the process. After the inspection, he kept saying, ‘Our house… Our house… Mom, when are we moving to our house?’ Honestly, if I hadn’t taken Way Finders’ First-time Homebuyer Workshop, I probably would have stayed a renter for much longer. It helped me understand what I needed to be successful in purchasing a home.” more >>

When housing is on the agenda? Show up for housing.

There are 351 reasons why we’ve been underproducing housing for decades in Massachusetts—101 of which are in western Massachusetts. They are our towns and cities, each of which operates as its own political body and holds a lot of local control (think zoning and policies) when it comes to housing production. When housing is on your town’s agenda? Show up for housing! Because too often, it’s a few loud voices who show up to say “No.” We touched on this topic and more during a recent episode of Focus Springfield’s “Government Matters” Community TV show, which you can view here. more >>

The Holyoke Hub: A collaborative initiative that makes a difference, case-by-case

The best innovations are, with little doubt, the ones that elicit this collective refrain: “Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?” Such is the case with the Holyoke Hub, a low-cost initiative that has been delivering a high rate of success for at-risk youth, individuals, and families since it began in 2022. A partnership of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and community agencies, the Holyoke Hub takes a collaborative, holistic approach to helping people get to a better place. Among the Way Finders’ staff members to join in the weekly Hub discussion is Accountable Care Organization Manager Sara Pena. In her words: “Navigating that maze of resources as an individual at risk? It’s intimidating, it’s exhausting. The Hub has worked out for some of our clients as a really, really good idea. There are people who I don’t think would otherwise ever have really connected to all the systems of care that they need. So seamlessly, and in a really timely fashion.” more >>

Upcoming Events

Apr 27

Credit Success Workshop

webinar

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

May 18

First Time Homebuyer Workshop (English)

Virtual

5:30 pm

Featured Communities

Butternut Farms

12 Longmeadow Drive, Amherst, MA. A quiet, rural setting with plenty of open space and easy access to the surrounding communities. Amherst, MA
learn more >>

Parsons Village

71 Parsons Street, Easthampton, MA Energy-efficient homes in a development designed to enhance community, conserve resources and set a new standard for affordable housing. Easthampton, MA
learn more >>

Olympia Oaks

85 Olympia Drive, Amherst, MA. A mixed-income community incorporating green space and access to nature, within walking distance of downtown Amherst. Amherst, MA
learn more >>

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so too is our vision. Our work requires many hands and many supporters. We invite you to join us.

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“Look forward, don’t look back.”

Jonel relocated to Massachusetts from Connecticut, where, despite working two jobs, she couldn’t afford rent. She lost everything and moved north with her daughter, right before the start of a global pandemic. Her plan—to stay with family—didn’t work out.

“I had no choice but to go into a shelter,” says Jonel. There she connected with programs and people who helped her start over. Today, Jonel pays market rent in Holyoke, works in the food industry, and is saving to get to the next steps in life. To others who are facing housing insecurity, Jonel offers these words: “Don’t be afraid. Look forward, don’t look back. And if you’re serious about changing your life, Way Finders is the way to go.”

learn more about the lives that way finders has impacted