Rental assistance aid totaling $7.9 million went to 1,604 Dorchester households in the last fiscal year, according to the agency that administers the program. That’s the largest share in the region, according to MetroHousing, which reported that 8,368 received $44 million through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program in Fiscal Year 2023.
The homelessness prevention program is funded by the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. MetroHousing, which has tracked the spending over the last decade, noted that RAFT saw significant growth driven by federal funding through the pandemic, followed by a contraction as federal resources were depleted.
In FY23, Metro Housing’s relationships with local community-based organizations continued to provide an invaluable resource for families, according to the report, which named Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID) as two key Dorchester partners.
