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Our Mission

The mission of Horizons for Homeless Children is to improve the lives of young homeless children in Massachusetts and help their families succeed by providing high-quality early education, opportunities for play, and comprehensive family support services. Click here to download our one-pager overview of Horizons. 

Our Vision

Every homeless child will have the opportunity to learn, play, and thrive.

Our Pillars

Thanks to our specially trained staff, whose efforts are supported and amplified by hundreds of committed volunteers and donors, Horizons provides hope and opportunity to the families we serve. Our four pillars of work include:

Early Education Center: We operate one of the state’s top-ranked early education programs, which starts children along the path toward success at school.

Playspace Program: We give children living in shelters play experiences that let them be kids for a few hours each week.

Family Partnerships Program: We coach parents as they navigate the difficulties of homelessness, providing a shoulder to lean on, and practical guidance toward getting their lives back on track.

Policy & Advocacy: We highlight the unique needs of children and families experiencing homelessness to ensure there are consistent priorities among policymakers on local, state, and federal levels.

Our Team and Commitments

Every staff member at Horizons, no matter their function, makes a difference in the lives of young children and families experiencing homelessness. While our team includes members from different personal and professional backgrounds, at our core is early education and social work. We value collaboration, inclusion, innovation and passion in everything we do.  

horizons for homeless children values mission vision

These are more than just words to us.  

  • “We get more done together” – from teachers, staff and volunteers and to our community of supporters as a whole – together we reach the more than 20,000 children experiencing homelessness in the Commonwealth every day.  
  • “We’re culturally responsive” – Systemic racism is a primary cause of homelessness and we’re committed to doing our part to counter it.  Race, ethnicity, sexual and gender orientation, etc.; we acknowledge the unique lived experiences of all identities. 
  • We ask “what would it take?” –  we change the way we’ve always done it; we figure it out.  COVID-19 made us turn our model upside down. And we did it successfully, learning along the way. 
  • “We are inspired by our mission” – if the thought of a child growing up without stability, consistency and access to resources to set them on a firm foundation for learning feels wrong, then you’ve come to the right place. 
HORIZONS' STORY
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