IMPORTANT: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has changed the application process for emergency rental assistance! Click here to learn more
March 31, 2022
Housing Study: sounding the urgent call for 17,000 new affordable rental units
As detailed by the second housing report from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute and Way Finders, the region is in urgent need of more housing at all income levels—affordable housing through market-rate housing. Of note, the study calls for the addition of at least 17,000 new rental units at or below $500 a month, which could help make a more attainable housing market for all residents.
March 29, 2022
Introducing Phase II of the Springfield & Pioneer Valley Housing Report
At Way Finders, we are passionately invested in lifting up the region’s people, places, and systems. To best inform our work—and that of law makers and housing advocates—we strive to understand the big picture. The needs and opportunities, in all their complexities.
March 24, 2022
Holding out for her dream: FSS graduate Daisy Martinez achieves a decades-long goal
On August 27, 2021, Daisy Martinez did something for the first time in 40 years: She called a place other than Orchard Street in Springfield her home.
March 23, 2022
The Five Domains of Wellbeing: a new framework for helping people make lasting, sustainable change
Ask five people to define “wellbeing” and you’re likely to get five different takes. Some more nuanced and insightful than others. For the Way Finders’ teams that are devoted each day to helping clients achieve greater wellbeing and stability, having a clear vision and shared language regarding wellbeing are key.
March 14, 2022
2021 graduate Frances Rojas on the FSS Program: Questions that count, conversations that matter
Some questions scratch the surface. Others keep us on our toes—and moving in the right direction. Or, in the case of 2021 FSS graduate Frances Rojas, toward purchasing her first home.
March 3, 2022
Way Finders’ CEO, board member receive 2022 Black Excellence on the Hill awards
At the 2022 Black Excellence on the Hill awards, held virtually February 28, 2022, Way Finders’ President and CEO Keith Fairey and Board member Lenny Underwood were honored for their leadership and efforts to help their communities thrive.
February 23, 2022
Finding the space—physically, emotionally, financially—to rebuild paves the way to brighter days
When asked to sum up her experience with housing before she connected with Way Finders, Jessica Diaz, a native of Springfield and mother of four, presses a hand to her forehead. She shakes her head at the memory: “It was just waitlist, after waitlist, after waitlist.”
January 31, 2022
David Rios - First-time Homebuyer
David Rios and his wife Jacqueline graciously caught up with Way Finders shortly after they closed on their first home: a 1909 four-bedroom house in Springfield.
January 31, 2022
She rents. She buys. She soars! FSS graduate and new homeowner Shakina Gladden
To avoid certain disappointments, parents have been known to keep a thing or two from their kids until the last minute—tentative plans for a playdate, an outing that calls for good weather—in case things fall through.
January 4, 2022
Yamaris Rivera - Holyoke Community Advocate
Yamaris Rivera, who works as a family engagement coordinator at the H.B. Lawrence School in Holyoke, has been involved with Way Finders and the Chestnut Community Alliance since 2016. Through this connection, she has gotten to know the community and its needs more closely, both of which have greatly benefited her work.