Hearth

What Hearth does

Hearth, Inc. (formerly The Committee to End Elder Homelessness, founded 1991) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 1640 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts, that operates as the only organization in Greater Boston dedicated exclusively to ending homelessness among older adults (50+). The organization delivers a continuum of three core programs: (1) Permanent Supportive Housing comprising 228 owned and operated units across seven properties in Boston neighborhoods (Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Brookline, and downtown Boston), staffed by interdisciplinary teams of licensed nurses, social workers, mental health clinicians, and case managers who conduct bi-annual comprehensive assessments; (2) a Street Outreach Program that engages unsheltered adults 50+ through shelters (Pine Street Inn, Barbara McInnis House, Rosie's Place) and hospital referrals; and (3) a Homelessness Prevention Program that delivers housing stabilization, financial assistance, and shallow subsidies to adults at imminent risk of homelessness. The organization additionally operates Ruggles Affordable Assisted Living, a 43-unit facility that is the only deeply affordable assisted-living site in Massachusetts, serving low-income and formerly homeless adults 55+ who require assistance with activities of daily living.

Hearth's service model is the federally endorsed Housing First evidence-based practice, which pairs permanent housing with voluntary, person-centered supportive services and is documented to deliver a 98% one-year housing retention rate. The underlying technology stack is non-proprietary and human-service-intensive rather than software-driven: outcomes derive from clinical workflows, interdisciplinary staffing, regulatory designations (Section 8, SSI-G, GAFC, PACE, SCO coordination), and real-estated operating capacity rather than algorithmic or platform components.

Hearth's revenue is assembled from five streams disclosed in its financials: individual donations, multi-year foundation grants (Cummings Foundation $150K/3-year, The Boston Foundation $50K/2-year Safety Net Grant), corporate sponsorships and matching gifts (Liberty Mutual Insurance, Brookline Bank, Peabody Properties), special-event fundraising (Inspire Action Gala raising over $200K in 2025 and Winter Walk raising nearly $50K in 2026), and planned giving/bequests. The go-to-market motion is community-led: clients are reached through shelter, hospital, and government-agency referral partnerships rather than traditional sales channels, while donor acquisition relies on organic social, email, PR in outlets such as the Boston Globe, and grassroots events. As of 2025 the organization reports 84 staff, serves 633+ older adults annually, has housed 3,063 older adults cumulatively since 1991, and in 2025 generated an 11% year-over-year increase in clients served and 20% growth in prevention services (143 prevented from homelessness).

Name

Hearth

Legal name

Hearth, Inc.

Website

https://hearth-home.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hearth is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1991, that delivers permanent supportive housing, street outreach, and homelessness prevention programs exclusively for older adults (50+) across Greater Boston, operating 228 housing units plus the only deeply affordable assisted-living facility in Massachusetts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Elderly Homelessness Services and Permanent Supportive Housing

NAICS

Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (623312), Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Elder Services & Aging Support (BPAGAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Senior & Transitional Monthly Housing (THAMAFAJ)

Keywords

• Permanent supportive housing
• Older adult homelessness services
• Affordable assisted living
• Homelessness prevention programs
• Street outreach services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from individual donors supporting the mission to end older adult homelessness
2. Foundation Grants: Multi-year grants from foundations such as Cummings Foundation ($150,000 over 3 years) and The Boston Foundation ($50,000 Safety Net Grant)
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships and matching gift programs from partners such as Liberty Mutual Insurance
4. Special Events: Annual gala (Inspire Action Gala), Winter Walk fundraising events, and DIY fundraising campaigns
5. Planned Giving: Bequests, retirement planning, qualified charitable distributions, and estate planned gifts

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hearth is a nonprofit organization that provides permanent supportive housing, street outreach, and homelessness prevention services for older adults aged 50 and above in Greater Boston. It owns and operates 228 units across 7 housing properties, employs interdisciplinary care teams of nurses, social workers, and mental health clinicians, and runs the only deeply affordable assisted living facility in Massachusetts. Services are delivered at no cost to eligible clients and funded through donations, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and government sources.

Product overview

Hearth is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of housing and supportive services for older adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Greater Boston. The core offerings include Permanent Supportive Housing (228 units across 7 properties), the Outreach Program (reaching unsheltered older adults aged 50+), the Homelessness Prevention Program (upstream intervention to prevent eviction), and Ruggles Assisted Living (the only deeply affordable assisted living in Massachusetts). These programs work together as a continuum: Prevention stops homelessness before it starts, Outreach meets people on the streets and in shelters, and Housing provides permanent homes with on-site supportive services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hearth Housing (Permanent Supportive Housing) Permanent supportive housing for older adults aged 50 and above who have experienced homelessness, offering 228 units across 7 Greater Boston properties staffed by interdisciplinary teams including nurses, social workers, mental health clinicians, and case managers, with comprehensive resident assessments every six months.
• Ruggles Affordable Assisted Living The only deeply affordable assisted living facility in Massachusetts, serving 43 units for low-income and formerly homeless older adults aged 55+ who require assistance with activities of daily living including bathing, dressing, mobility, toileting, and meal preparation. Coordinates housing subsidy and service subsidy programs including Section 8, SSI-G, GAFC, PACE, and SCO.
• Outreach Program Street outreach program for older adults aged 50+ living unsheltered on Boston's streets or in shelters, providing case management, housing search assistance, and connection to physical health, mental health, financial, legal, and social services. Operates in collaboration with Pine Street Inn, Barbara McInnis House, and Rosie's Place.
• Homelessness Prevention Program Housing stabilization, financial assistance, landlord mediation, and case management services to help older adults aged 50+ remain housed before a crisis becomes homelessness. Includes shallow subsidies and referrals from community agencies identifying those who are doubled-up, leaving institutions, or facing eviction.
• Anna Bissonnette House Permanent supportive housing property at 1640 Washington Street, Boston, offering 40 units with income restrictions for formerly homeless older adults. This site also serves as Hearth's Main Office and Outreach Program location.
• Elsie Frank House 9-unit permanent supportive housing property in Jamaica Plain at 4 Bishop Street, serving formerly homeless elderly women with income restrictions.
• Hearth at Burroughs 14-unit congregate-style permanent supportive housing property at 27 Burroughs Street in Jamaica Plain, where residents share common spaces and support one another.
• Hearth at Four Corners 54-unit permanent supportive housing property in Dorchester at 16 Ronald Street, serving adults 62+ and non-elderly disabled individuals; also extends the program to low-income and middle-income older adults at risk of homelessness.
• Hearth at Olmsted Green 59-unit permanent supportive housing property in Dorchester at 2 Kingbird Road. Property management services are provided by Peabody Properties (since 2012).
• Ruth Cowin House Affordable housing property at 1027 Beacon Street in Brookline, providing permanent supportive housing for older adults.

Quantifiable outcome

• Healthcare cost savings of $14,000-$20,000 annually per resident
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Winter Walk / MoreHomes CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth is a partner organization in Winter Walk, a nationwide movement powered by the MoreHomes Coalition that raises critical funds for local nonprofits working to support people experiencing homelessness. Hearth was #1 fundraising partner across all Winter Walk cities in 2025.
• Sailors' Snug HarborsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership referenced in Hearth's 2025 Annual Report as a key collaboration supporting the organization's mission and resident services.
• Barbara McInnis HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth outreach case managers collaborate with Barbara McInnis House shelter to identify homeless older adults 50+ in need of housing search services and prevention support.
• Pine Street InncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth works with Pine Street Inn shelters (Men's Inn and Women's Inn) to identify and serve homeless older adults through housing search and stabilization services.
• Rosie's PlacesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth collaborates with Rosie's Place shelter to identify older women experiencing homelessness and connect them to housing and supportive services.
• Peabody PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeabody Properties has managed Hearth at Olmsted Green since 2012 and provides property management services for Hearth's housing portfolio.
• Massachusetts Coalition for the HomelesssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth refers clients to the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless website for information about shelters throughout Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. LaTanya Wright, VP of Outreach and Partnerships, serves on the MHSA Member Advisory Board to ensure older adult perspectives are represented in statewide homelessness policy discussions.
• Hebrew Senior Life / CPEANsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearth partners with Hebrew Senior Life's Center for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect (CPEAN), the first and only transitional shelter for older adults facing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, to move clients into permanent housing.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rosie's Place: Boston-based nonprofit providing shelter and services to homeless women. Comparable peer for Boston-area nonprofit human services, with active referral collaboration for Hearth's older women clients.
• Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program: Massachusetts nonprofit providing healthcare to homeless individuals, including clinical services and Barbara McInnis House shelter. Closely comparable to Hearth's integrated housing-plus-care model and active in its referral pipeline.
• Victory Programs: Boston nonprofit addressing substance use, homelessness, and reentry. LaTanya Wright worked at Victory Programs before Hearth, signaling direct workforce and operational overlap with Hearth's outreach services.
• Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless: Statewide advocacy and referral organization for homeless services. Hearth refers clients to its shelter locator and participates in shared policy advocacy, making it a closely aligned peer for service-coordination perspective.
• Barbara McInnis House (Boston Health Care for the Homeless): Boston shelter and recuperative care facility affiliated with BHCHP. Direct referral partner with Hearth's outreach case managers for older adults needing housing-search and stabilization services.
• Heading Home: Greater Boston nonprofit providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing. Direct comparable peer for housing-plus-case-management services serving similar populations in the same metro.
• Pine Street Inn: Boston's largest homelessness services organization operating shelters, housing, and outreach. Directly comparable to Hearth in Greater Boston homeless-services delivery, and an active referral partner for Hearth's outreach team.

Others

• MassHousing: Massachusetts quasi-public affordable housing finance agency. Not a direct peer (it is a capital provider rather than services provider), but a comparator for affordable-housing financing and policy context in which Hearth operates.

Emerging players

• Hebrew Senior Life: Boston-area senior services organization operating housing, healthcare, and the Center for Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect. A formal Hearth partner with overlapping older-adult focus, providing an emerging-player comparison in senior housing services.

Broad incumbents

• Vinfen: Large Massachusetts human-services nonprofit serving individuals with mental health conditions, developmental disabilities, and behavioral health needs. LaTanya Wright's prior employer; comparable scale and clinical-care model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ElderlyHomeless
• Facebookfacebook.com/hearthinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hearth-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/hearth_inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hearth