SHA Announcements
Congratulations to the Kumar-Verma Family!
The Kumar-Verma family was selected in a First Time Homebuyer lottery administered through the City of Somerville’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. Sanjeev, Reeta, and their three children recently closed on their first home, a three-bedroom townhouse in East Somerville. A great Lending and Legal team, as well as SHA’s Section 8 FSS and Homeownership Program Coordinator Janine Lotti worked together to make their homeownership dream a reality. The family received Closing Cost Assistance from the City of Somerville and are now participants in SHA’s Section 8 for Homeownership program. Congratulations to the Kumar-Verma family for this great achievement!
To View SHA's Plan(s) Click Here.
ATTENTION LANDLORDS
To post your available unit listings click here.
Pressley, Ballantyne, Advocates Celebrate $2.4M Secured for Somerville’s Clarendon Hill Housing Community
Federal Dollars Delivered by Pressley Will Boost Affordable Housing, Accessibility, Green Space, and Safe Transit for Ethnically, Linguistically & Economically Diverse Neighborhood
View Full Press ReleaseTelephone Notification System
Subscribe to our text message service!!The Somerville Housing Authority uses a telephone notification service to send important messages to residents. This is similar to the method used by the city to send out notices for school closings and snow emergencies. In order to receive these messages, residents must make sure their manager has an up-to-date telephone number. We also encourage residents to subscribe to our text message service by texting shaalert to 80123. Messages are infrequent, but will contain important information to the SHA community.
SHA News & Events
Reminder!
SHA allows all households to install air conditioners beginning May 1st. If you live in elderly/disabled housing, do NOT attempt to install your air conditioner yourself. Please call the Maintenance Department at 617-625-4522 for assistance with installation. If you live in family housing, Maintenance will install your air conditioner for a $25 fee. If you need assistance, please call 617-625-4522 to request a work order. For more information view SHA's Air Conditioner Policy.
SHA Executive Director Named NAHRO Fellow
The Somerville Housing Authority proudly announces that its Executive Director, Diane L. Cohen, has been installed as a NAHRO Fellow by the Nation Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) on Friday, September 27, 2024, at is National Conference in Orlando, FL. Cohen is one of just nine Fellows selected nationwide, which recognizes individuals for their accumulated wisdom and mastery as seen by their achievements and their actions within their own communities. NAHRO Fellows have demonstrated, over a sustained period of time, their commitment to improve the housing conditions of their fellow citizens and/or the viability and sustainability of the community in which they live and work.
“I am always amazed by and grateful for the generosity of spirit of the NAHRO Fellows,” said NAHRO CEO Mark Thiele. “On top of their many accomplishments and constantly demanding work as housers and community builders, they continue to give back to the affordable housing industry by sharing their experience and wisdom, and by serving as mentors to the leaders to come. They’re truly champions, and we’re glad to honor the class of 2024!”
Cohen has over 35 years of experience in affordable housing and public service. Cohen joined the Somerville Housing Authority in 2022, after being the Deputy Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority for 21 years, leading the agency during periods of transition and growth. As the Executive Director of the Somerville Housing Authority, she oversees 2800 subsidized units and rental subsidies, employing over 100 staff. She serves as an Ex-Officio Trustee of Somerville Affordable Trust Fund, a $30M fund established in 1989 to identify, evaluate, and provide funding to help create, preserve, and support affordable housing in the City and is the Governor’s appointee and Chair of the Reading Housing Authority. Under her leadership at the Somerville Housing Authority, she is committed to fostering collaboration and partnerships to provide innovative and sustainable housing that is more accessible, more available, and more affordable for its households.
NEW WAITING LIST OPPORTUNITY FOR ELDERLY/DISABLED HOUSING
To apply online click here.
For a paper application click here.
Applications available in multiple languages here.
Event: Around Hear Concert(s) at the Mystic Activity Center!
Around Hear's Upcoming Concert Schedule
If you believe you have been discriminated against, call the HUD Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity national toll-free hotline at 1-800-669-9777. Or, you may contact the local HUD field office at Boston Regional Office of FHEO, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Federal Building:
Any individual who believes he or she has been denied employment or housing, discharged, or has suffered discrimination in compensation or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment or housing on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, ancestry, disability, marital status, veteran status, membership in the armed forces, presence of children, or political beliefs, receipt of public assistance rental assistance or housing subsidy or any other basis prohibited by law, has the right to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD).
One Ashburton Place, Room 601
Boston, MA 02108
Telephone: (617) 727-3990
TTY # (617) 727-3990 ext. 588
If you are applying for or receiving assistance under any housing operated by a public housing authority, you may have housing protections under VAWA. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a federal law that, in part, provides housing protections for people applying for or living in units subsidized by the federal government and who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, to help keep them safe and reduce their likelihood of experiencing homelessness.
Please see two important VAWA forms: Notice of Occupancy Rights under the Violence Against Women Act VAWA (HUD form 5380) and Certification of Domestic Violence (HUD Form 5382) below for SHA’s Federal Housing Programs: