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

Zooming in on Way Finders’ Board member Leonard Underwood

A conversation with Way Finders’ Board member and Springfield entrepreneur Leonard Underwood, of Underwood Photography and Upscale Socks: “The need for Way Finders’ services is certainly great, especially among young people. Way Finders is definitely filling that hole or that gap when it comes to housing, and being that epicenter, if you will, for housing resources. Seeing the progress of late has certainly given me hope, knowing that we’re moving in the right direction. Way Finders has great leadership, and I’m glad Governor Healey is on board with prioritizing housing.” more >>

Landlords Frank and Barbara Skrzypek love the SNO Mass program—here’s why

In 2019, Longmeadow property owners Frank and Barbara Skrzypek—owners of Enfield Carpet & Flooring—rented to their first tenant through Way Finders’ SNO Mass program, which helps Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher recipients with school-aged children move to communities that offer greater opportunity. In 2023, they rented a second property through the program. In their words: “We felt we were in a place to help other people, especially to give access to the schools. I love the SNO Mass program, it has connected us with honest people and it’s helping another person,” said Barbara. “As a landlord, you can get lost sometimes and just thinking about what you can get for rent. I mean, our values, it’s not always about that. It’s not always about money, honestly,” said Frank. more >>

Feeling the glow

She’s feeling the glow—that energy and spirit that comes with having everything going for oneself. Introducing 2023 Family Self-Sufficiency Program graduate Cynthia Torres of Springfield, who shares her glow-up story and gratitude for her Way Finders mentor Evelyn Baez. In Cynthia’s words: “You may have a million people in your life to speak to, but nobody is going to tell you what you need to hear. They’ll go around it. Because they’re family, or they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Evelyn goes straight to the point. ‘No, you’re wrong. You need to cut it out.’ “The FSS Program didn’t just help me financially, it also helped me to be a better person and lifted up my whole household. I am the rock and I was broken. Now everything is bonded together. I have everything going for myself, I never felt the glow that I feel right now.” more >>

Upcoming Events

Dec 2

First Time Homebuyer Workshop (English)

Virtual

9:00 am

Dec 12

Clases para Compradores de Casa por Primera Vez de Way Finders

1780 Main St., Springfield MA 01103

9:00 am

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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“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