Brookview House

The Brookview House’s mission is to provide homeless women and their children with a safe place to live, and programs to build their self-esteem. The families practice necessary skills to thrive as active and integral members of their community and by doing so, improve the community for all of us. Established in 1990 and located in Dorchester, MA, Brookview serves approximately 350 mothers and their children every year. Using a rare, two generational approach, the programs and services at Brookview address each individual of the family, getting all members stabilized.

Brookview’s family-centered model helps both moms and kids develop tangible skills, and address cognitive, behavioral, attitudinal, and social factors. Many elements come together to make Brookview one of the most innovative programs.

Most women who find themselves homeless have been abused. Some of these women leave their abuser with nothing in order to protect their children. Women who are homeless are often homeless for seven to eight years, which means some of their children have never lived in a stable environment. Brookview is their first stable environment. While at Brookview, women learn to lift each other up in any way possible, and as a result they also learn to pay it forward. Over the past 25 years, many mothers who have “graduated” have returned to give back.

At Brookview, all school aged children attend school, and the mothers are aided by Brookview to help support their student. Youth programs are on-site, while student support services include after-school help. Brookview’s after-school programs are open to students even after they move out of the facility.

93% of the moms who have spent living at Brookview maintain permanent housing after leaving Brookview. 88% of students who spend time in Brookview’s Youth Development Program graduate high school. If this same student stayed in the shelter or hotel system his or her likelihood of graduating high school is only 25%.

In 2014, a 16 year old boy living at Brookview was named a Bank of America Scholar; one of only six students in MA to be chosen. He spent two weeks in Washington DC meeting members of the Congress and the executives of BOA. Also, in 2014, Brookview was the winner of the Ford Motor Company College-Community Challenge. Together with students of Wentworth College, students submitted a proposal for a student-led, community-building to address an urgent community need under the theme: Building Sustainable Communities. The team presented a proposal for a sustainable project with significant student input, involvement, leadership, and volunteerism.