Website provides housing crisis information: Commonwealth Housing Task Force research made available

Boston - The Boston Foundation today launched a website designed to give greater visibility to the work of the Commonwealth Housing Task Force and provide a central source for information housing issues, at a time when a lack of affordable housing has been identified as a critical economic issue for the metropolitan region.

The Task Force brought together an unprecedented coalition of business and civic leaders, representatives from the environmental community and organized labor, as well as elected and appointed officials, housing advocates and representatives from higher education. It is convened by Paul S. Grogan of the Boston Foundation and led by four co-chairs: Jerry Rappaport Jr., President of the New Boston Fund; Bob Smyth, President of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts; Larry DiCara, Partner at the law firm of Nixon, Peabody; and Eleanor White, President of Housing Partners, Inc.

“Solving our current housing crisis is critical to the continued well-being of this region,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “The Commonwealth Housing Task Force has demonstrated the leadership and willingness to collaborate we need to move forward on this issue.”

According to Barry Bluestone, Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, “The website will be they key resource for anyone—public officials, developers, housing advocates, and the general public—seeking the latest and best information on the nature of the current affordable housing situation.”

The site includes contact information for the members of the Commonwealth Housing Task Force, as well as housing reports sponsored by the Boston Foundation. Copies of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card for 2003 and research executed by the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University are available on the site, as well.

“A regional lack of affordable housing is critically tied to the long-term health of the Massachusetts economy,” said Robert E. Smyth, Chairman, President and CEO of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts. “Commonwealth Housing Task Force’s new site is designed to clearly demonstrate the nature of the problem and serve as a resource for future solutions. Citizens Bank is proud to partner with the Boston Foundation and the Housing Task Force as we share a continued to commitment to increasing the affordable housing stock in Massachusetts.”

The next Housing Report Card will be released September 8 at a forum at 8 am at the Boston Foundation.

The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, has an endowment of almost $675 million. In 2004, the Foundation made $51 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, and received gifts of $41 million. The Boston Foundation is made up of 750 separate charitable funds, which have been established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a civic leader, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to build community. For more information about the Boston Foundation and its grant making, visit www.tbf.org, or call 617-338-3890.

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The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, has an endowment of almost $675 million, made grants of $51 million to nonprofit organizations, and received gifts of $41 million last year. The Boston Foundation is made up of 750 separate charitable funds, which have been established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a civic leader, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to build community. For more information about the Boston Foundation and its grant making, visit www.tbf.org , or call 617-338-1700.