“To lawmakers I say this: homelessness and housing insecurity is a public health crisis.”

These were the words of EMPath participant and Voices Advocacy Council member Lashaunda, speaking at Homes for Families’ MRVP Cookie Day on Tuesday, March 2. Cookie Day is an annual day of action that brings together families, shelter providers and other nonprofits, legislators, and other advocates to call for increased investment in the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP). The event is usually held in person at the State House, and advocates deliver cookies to legislators’ offices along with information about the importance of MRVP. This year it was held on Zoom.

EMPath participants played a prominent role at Tuesday’s event, which had over 100 attendees. Lashaunda, who will graduate from EMPath’s flagship program this year, shared that she used to see her voucher “as a security blanket to protect me. But now I see it as a springboard to help lift me to better heights.”

“The day I got a housing voucher felt surreal. I was so happy to get my own place; we had a sense of security finally,” Lashaunda said. “Regardless of the volatility of the job market, I don’t feel the same level of fear as some of my peers without housing assistance, because I know that even if I lose my job, in the very least I’ll always have a roof over my head.”

MRVP is a state-run housing voucher program. MRVP vouchers are used to subsidize rent in market-rate apartments. Nearly 9,000 households with low incomes in Massachusetts receive MRVP vouchers. In a state with one of the highest costs of living in the country, including soaring housing costs, many families spend a large percentage of their incomes on housing. According to 2019 data tabulated by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, nearly 70% of the state’s renter households earning less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) are severely cost burdened, needing to spend more than half of their income on housing costs. The same is true for 22% of MA renter households earning 31%-50% AMI.

Another EMPath participant, Claire, shared that MRVP helped her and her daughter become permanently housed. “The advantage of having subsidized housing, which is based on our income, is if we can’t pay the rent or lose our jobs, we won’t be homeless again,” she said at the event. “It helps us sleep at night.”

“Since getting my own apartment, I graduated from nursing school, I got married, and watched my daughter grow academically, spiritually, and athletically,” Claire continued. “I would like officials to see my journey, and see what a difference access to shelter and housing assistance made for me. We need more funding for programs like MRVP, public housing, and other programs to make housing affordable.”

MA residents facing housing insecurity need reinvigorated state government supports for stability, especially amidst ongoing uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic. MRVP is critical to providing this stability. At EMPath, many participants — like Claire and Lashaunda — are able to move from shelter into permanent housing by obtaining an MRVP voucher. And we know that stable housing — a basic human right — lays the foundation for accomplishing goals in other areas like education, employment, family, finances, and mental and physical well-being.

EMPath and our partners are asking the MA legislature to fund MRVP at $160 million in Fiscal Year 2022. This would maintain the 8,000+ vouchers in use and increase the number of vouchers available to provide families with the stability they need. We also call for making vouchers more affordable by requiring families pay no more than 30% of their income.

Take action to support MRVP by contacting your legislators using this script, and sign up for EMPath’s Advocacy Alerts to learn what other programs you can advocate for.

• Watch the full recording of Cookie Day 2021 here (Lashaunda speaks at minute 21:40 and Claire at 39:25)
• Read the MRVP FY22 funding fact sheet
• View Homes for Families’ full Cookie Day 2021 toolkit