Thank you for a transformative year!

At the end of every fiscal year, Horizons for Homeless Children reflects on our core values. We’re proud to be an Innovative, Collaborative, Inclusive, and Passionate organization serving children and families in need. It’s through these values that we transform the lives of families facing homelessness everyday thanks to your ongoing, generous support. 

2023 was a transformative year for Horizons, and we’re excited to share all we’ve accomplished!

We’re Innovative – We ask, “What would it take?” 

• Utilizing data to drive our programs, we’ve established a consistent cadence of wellness surveys and reports to better meet the needs of families in our care. 
  
  • They report a median income of $10,000 ($181/week), often dependent on minimum wage hourly jobs that do not support their families’ basic needs.
  • 75% of our families report having no financial savings to fall back on in a crisis.
• Stepping up to the challenge of an increasing homeless population, we reopened 9 Playspaces, opened 2 new ones, and trained over 130 new volunteers to meet the growing demand.
  • We offered over 5,000 hours of play to children experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts.

We’re Collaborative – “We get more done together” 

• Through our data driven work, we’ve identified a growing need for special education support as more children present with developmental and behavioral challenges likely related to their early years living through the pandemic.
  • In partnership with Neighborhood Villages, we have funded a full-time intervention specialist to join Horizons’ growing team.
  • Supporting our work in the classrooms, this key role is the communication link between parents and teachers to help with strategies for a child’s development and growth.
• Partnering with other highly reputable organizations (including the Science Museum and Boston College) we’re investing in technology and bringing STEM education to our students, teaching coding and problem solving. 
• We’ve invested in training our leaders in Reflective Supervision, a consistent management approach in which the organization’s leaders rely upon and prioritize collaboration, relationship-building and reflection with colleagues, all particularly valuable in an early education and social services setting. 

We’re Inclusive – “We’re culturally responsive”

• We’ve created a Senior Director of DEI Engagement role, promoting excellence from within Horizons’ leadership to take our DEI efforts and employee resource groups to new heights.
• We’ve dedicated resources to expanding our outreach and broaden our community base in the Latino/Hispanic communities through events and opportunities to connect. 
• Alongside bilingual teachers in our classrooms and bilingual staff/resources on site, we’ve improved our digital resources including our website to be translated to Spanish and Haitian Creole based on our families’ demographics. 

We’re Passionate – “We are inspired by our mission”

• We opened the largest Playspace in our history in record time to meet the growing needs of families facing homelessness with young children.
• We’re enriching our relationships with families through new models of thinking, creating pathways from surviving, to striving, to ultimately thriving.
• We continue to advocate in support of public policies around family homelessness and early education. We believe affordable, quality early education is an essential part of a more inclusive community.

At Horizons for Homeless Children, we recognize the pressing needs of those we serve and with the unwavering support of our community, we strive for excellence in everything we do. As a new fiscal year begins, we are fueled with determination to fulfill our ambitious plans for the coming year. Your year-round support is the backbone of our transformative work, and we are sincerely grateful for your dedication to Horizons. Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful and healthy rest of your summer!