Heading Home

What Heading Home does

Heading Home is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1974 and headquartered at 186 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. It provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing to families with children and chronically homeless individuals across Eastern Massachusetts. Service delivery is organized around an integrated 'housing-plus-services' model combining Congregate Shelter, Co-Shelter Scattered Site, Scattered Site Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and a two-year transitional program (Pathways to Permanent Housing), complemented by Career and Financial Services through its Economic Mobility Center and the Up & Out volunteer program. On any given night, the organization serves approximately 500 households (about 900 people) across 10 owned properties plus private-market rentals in Cambridge, Dorchester, Lawrence, Medford, Roxbury, and other locations, with a documented 97% one-year permanent housing retention rate sustained for 19+ consecutive years.

The operating model is not technology-based but is built on physical real estate, case management staff, and a coordinated-entry referral pipeline. Heading Home holds roughly 200 employees and serves 8,000+ clients annually, supported by an annual operating budget of approximately $27 million. Revenue is generated entirely through a combination of government contracts (city, state, and federal), foundation grants (Cummings Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay), corporate partnerships (Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Suffolk Construction, Bain Capital), and individual donations via the Leadership Circle donor program — clients receive services at no cost.

Client acquisition flows through regulated Continuum of Care referral systems (Boston CoC, Balance of State CoC, Cambridge Coordinated Access Network) and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. Fundraising and community engagement are driven by signature events (Housewarming gala, Changemakers, She4She, Junior Board Summer Social), a 1,000+ volunteer network, and a multi-channel digital presence. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors chaired by Jim Mawn (Northern Bank & Trust Company) and led by CEO Danielle Ferrier, with a recently expanded C-suite including COO Heather Martin and Chief Administrative and Information Officer Julie DeLillo.

Name

Heading Home

Legal name

Heading Home

Website

https://headinghomeinc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Heading Home is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing for homeless families and chronically homeless individuals across Eastern Massachusetts, serving 8,000+ clients annually through a housing-plus-services model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless and Housing Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Emergency shelter services
• Transitional housing programs
• Permanent supportive housing
• Homeless services nonprofit
• Economic mobility services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Funded by city, state, and federal governments through contracts for homeless services
2. Individual Donations: Donations from individuals supporting the mission to end homelessness
3. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations including Cummings Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, and others
4. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate giving, event sponsorships, and matching gift programs from Greater Boston businesses

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Heading Home is a nonprofit social services organization that operates emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing programs for families and individuals experiencing homelessness in Eastern Massachusetts. The organization also delivers career coaching, financial education, life-skills development, and housing search and placement services through an integrated housing-plus-services model designed to move clients toward self-sufficiency.

Product overview

Heading Home operates as a single unified social services organization providing homelessness assistance in Eastern Massachusetts, not as a platform with separate modules. The organization offers an integrated portfolio of housing programs (emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing) combined with supportive services (career and financial coaching, economic mobility support). Programs include Congregate Shelter, Co-Shelter Scattered Site, Scattered Site Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, Pathways to Permanent Housing (a two-year transitional program), Career and Financial Services, and the Up & Out Volunteer Program. The housing-plus-services model emphasizes permanent housing attainment and retention alongside goal-oriented coaching to help clients develop skills for self-sufficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Shelter
• Congregate Shelter
• Co-Shelter Scattered Site
• Scattered Site Housing
• Permanent Supportive Housing
• Pathways to Permanent Housing (PPH)
• Career and Financial Services
• Up & Out Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% of clients remain permanently housed one year later (for 19+ years running)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cambridge Coordinated Access Network (C-CAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinated Entry system for Cambridge area, providing referrals for housing programs in the Cambridge CoC.
• Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner providing housing subsidies and funding for homeless services across the state.
• Balance of State CoCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContinuum of Care partnership covering Malden, Everett, Medford, Chelsea, Revere areas for coordinated housing referrals.
• Boston CoCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoston Continuum of Care for coordinated entry and housing placement within Boston.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• The Boston Foundation: The Boston Foundation is a major Greater Boston community foundation that aggregates philanthropic capital and deploys it toward housing, homelessness, and economic mobility nonprofits. Sits upstream of Heading Home as a major regional funder and convener within the same donor ecosystem.
• Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless: The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is a statewide advocacy organization working on homelessness prevention, family shelter funding, and housing policy. A peer in mission alignment and Massachusetts geography, focused on systems change rather than direct service delivery.
• Boston Housing Authority: The Boston Housing Authority is the largest public housing provider in Boston, administering federal Section 8 and state public housing subsidies. They are a key funder/referral partner for Heading Home's permanent supportive housing graduates transitioning to long-term subsidized housing.

Broad incumbents

• Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance: MHSA is a statewide advocacy and network organization that convenes homeless service providers, lobbies for housing policy, and operates programming including permanent supportive housing. Comparable in subject matter across Massachusetts, though it functions more as a network/advocate than a direct service operator at Heading Home's scale.
• Catholic Charities Boston: Catholic Charities Boston operates a portfolio of housing, family, and refugee services across Eastern Massachusetts, including some emergency shelter capacity. Comparable in revenue scale and Greater Boston geography, but with a much broader service portfolio beyond homelessness.

Direct peers

• St. Francis House: St. Francis House is a Boston-based day-services and shelter nonprofit serving homeless and low-income adults, including one of the largest day centers in New England. Directly comparable in geography, client population, and daytime support programming.
• Pine Street Inn: Pine Street Inn is the largest homeless services provider in New England, operating emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, and workforce development across Greater Boston. Directly comparable in service mix, geography, and target population (homeless individuals and families), and overlapping client referral networks via Boston CoC.
• Rosie's Place: Rosie's Place is a Boston-based shelter and support services nonprofit serving poor and homeless women, with a continuum of housing, meals, and economic-empowerment programming. Comparable in service-integration philosophy (housing-plus-services) and Greater Boston footprint, though narrower in population focus.
• Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program: BHCHP provides healthcare and supportive housing services to homeless individuals across Greater Boston, with clinical and case-management models targeting the same chronically homeless population Heading Home serves. Both receive referrals through Boston CoC and Massachusetts coordinated-entry systems.
• Father Bill's & MainSpring: Father Bill's & MainSpring operates emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, and homelessness prevention programs across Eastern Massachusetts (Brockton, Quincy, Taunton). Comparable in service model and region, with overlapping Balance of State CoC funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HeadingHomeInc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HeadingHomeInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Heading-Home/22427838909
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/884042
• Instagraminstagram.com/headinghomeinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Heading Home