Walk! Use this pledge form so people can sponsor you as a Save Our Homes participant.
Save Our Homes: Logistics
The 17th Annual Save Our Homes Walk will be held on Sunday, June 14, 2020.
The 5K (3.1 mile) walk route begins at Somerville City Hall, passes affordable housing landmarks, and ends at Somerville City Hall. Here is the Save Our Homes Walk Map but as the walk is now VIRTUAL, be as creative as you like and design your own route!
Save Our Homes: Your Impact
Joe Cafe, a veteran of the first Iraq war, had been living in a half-way house in Somerville for over a year and working full-time as a security guard in Boston, making $8.50 an hour. The staff of the house noticed his responsibility had asked him to mentor newcomers and take on other responsibilities at the house. It was a good place for him, but he didn’t really need the support of the house and they needed to make room for new people. Plus, from his perspective, he missed having his own apartment and being able to have a dog.
Fortunately, he received a Section 8 housing subsidy that would allow him to pay a third of his gross income in rent. He had been saving up money to move and had enough for first and lasts months’ rent and a moving truck, but didn’t have enough to pay the security deposit. When he came to SCC he was excited about the apartment he had found but was disappointed that he couldn’t afford the deposit and didn’t know what he was going to do. SCC, using the Walk Funds, was able to pay for a portion of the deposit so that Joe could move into his new place. Now 24 months sober and having gotten a better job at the VA Hospital, Joe is happy to have a place of his own and a home for his new dog, Rusty.