Housing Resources

The financial, physical, and emotional toll of Lyme disease on our community can lead to housing insecurity. Navigating the system can be incredibly tough, especially when you’re sick. Gen Lyme is here to provide community and emotional support as you negotiate this for yourself and/or a loved one.

Here, you’ll find a list of housing resources.

Generation Lyme is not affiliated with any housing or social service program and does not participate in providing housing assistance.

Have resources you don’t see listed here? Let us know!

First Steps

If you are experiencing housing insecurity in the US, tap the link below for information and resources on how to get started with getting help.

The following information is from the National Alliance to End Homelessness website:

STEP ONE: ACCESSING SHELTER OR HOUSING SERVICES

If you are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness, the first step is to get in touch with the shelter system in your community. You may need to call a hotline or go to a community-designated organization for homeless services. Your community may have a “homeless hotline,” “2-1-1,” or other organization/agency that serves as the “front door” to receiving any kind of help.

• The Continuum of Care (CoC) program is the “front door” for homelessness services across the country. Contact your community’s CoC to learn about access to shelter, housing, and other resources.
  Contact the CoC in your area (after entering an address, click the map to find contact information for your local CoC)

• A 2-1-1 hotline is available in many communities and offers trained staff 24/7 to help residents access services like shelter, health care, food, and other social services programs.
  Find your community’s 2-1-1 hotline | Call 2-1-1

• The National Coalition for the Homeless offers basic information on how people experiencing homelessness can get help and access resources.
  Website

United States

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Rental Assistance Programs: Anyone can use the dropdown menu on the webpage linked below to choose a state and to be directed to housing/rent resources there. Note: the website focuses on financial relief due to COVID-19, and certain resources have closed; however, some of the resources remain available.

consumerfinance.gov

National Alliance to End Homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. Their website includes detailed, step-by-step information on what to do if you are experiencing homelessness.

endhomelessness.org

National Coalition for the Homeless

The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission: To end and prevent homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights are respected and protected. Their website includes resources for people who need help immediately and may need help in the near future.

nationalhomeless.org

National Healthcare for the Homeless Council

The National Healthcare for the Homeless Council offers a searchable state list of healthcare providers that serve people experiencing homelessness.

nhchc.org

Help for Specific Populations

• VETERANS

  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers resources. If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, we strongly encourage you to contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 4AID-VET (877-424-3838) for assistance. va.gov/homeless

• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

  The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers a confidential 24/7 hotline and online chat to anyone experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship.
  Call 1-800-799-7233 | Chat online (click chat in top right) | Make a safety plan

• YOUNG PEOPLE

  The National Runaway Safeline offers services and a confidential 24/7 hotline for young people who are at risk of homelessness.
  Website | Call 1-800-786-2929

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

If you need public housing assistance or would like specific information about public housing programs such as housing choice vouchers, you can contact your local Public Housing Agency. The website linked below enables you to search for contact information for Public Housing Agencies in your city and state.

hud.gov/program_offices

United Way

United Way, a nonprofit working to advance the common good in communities across the world, offers a web site with a list of community resources to help with housing.

unitedway.org

United States & Canada

Modest Needs

Modest Needs’ mission is to responsibly provide short-term financial assistance to individuals and families in temporary crisis who, because they are working and live just above the poverty level, are ineligible for most types of conventional social assistance but who (like many of us) are living one or two lost paychecks away from the kind of financial catastrophe that eventually leads to homelessness;

modestneeds.org

Massachusetts

Department of Housing and Community Development

The Department of Housing and Community Development, through its community and business partners, provides affordable housing options, financial assistance, and other support to Massachusetts communities.

mass.gov/orgs

Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless

The mission of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is to eradicate homelessness from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ensure that everyone has a place to call home.

mahomeless.org

Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance

The Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA) is a nonprofit, public policy advocacy organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Massachusetts. We collaborate with service providers, policymakers, funders and individuals across Massachusetts to transform the way the Commonwealth responds to homelessness and ensure all of our neighbors have a place to call home.

mhsa.net

Needy Fund

The Needy Fund provides short-term financial assistance for Cape Cod residents & families. This article is about a single mother with Lyme disease who received short-term financial assistance: Click here.

needyfund.org

New Bedford Homeless Service Provider Network

The City of New Bedford coordinates a comprehensive response to homelessness using a “Continuum of Care” approach through its Homeless Service Provider Network [HSPN].

• Cold Weather Overflow Shelter

• Downloadable "Street Sheet"

nbhspn.com

New York

NYC Supportive Housing

Supportive housing is affordable housing with supportive social services in place for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

nyc.gov

Australia

Monaro Community Access Service

MCAS strives to assist people aged 16 years and over who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as those experiencing social disadvantage, domestic violence and mental health issues in the Snowy Monaro region. (Not a Mast Cell Activation Syndrome organization.)

monarocommunityaccessservice.com

Canada

BC Housing

BC Housing develops, manages and administers a wide range of subsidized housing options across the province. The page linked here list helps people find shelters and understand the process.

bchousing.org

Covenant House Vancouver

Covenant House Vancouver is committed to serving all youth with relentless support, absolute respect, and unconditional love; helping youth experiencing homelessness; and to protecting and safeguarding all youth in need.

covenanthousebc.org