SPRINGFIELD — In the face of a persistent housing crisis, the Gándara Center offers another way for young adults to receive the resources they need in their transition to independent living.
The nonprofit organization recently launched its new Young Adult Supportive Living Program to help young people between the ages of 18 and 22 transition out of the Department of Children and Families youth programs.
According to Amanda Lesnick, the vice president of support services at Gándara, the new program allows young adults the opportunity to stay at a new two-unit, four-bedroom building on Mooreland Street at no cost while they prepare for independent living.
The building not only provides supportive housing, but also case management and life skills coaching, Lesnick said.
“The goal is to help them become ready to live independently by the time they leave,” Lesnick said of the supportive housing program. “We work with them to identify what skills they need to build to successfully do that.”
Because this program is funded through DCF, referrals are exclusively made through the state agency, according to Lesnick, and four young adults can live at the building at one time.
She added that there is not a prescribed length of time that young adults must stay at the Mooreland Street building, but the goal is to try and have them prepared for independent living within a couple years.
“It’s been increasingly challenging to find appropriate and safe housing for young adults, and so this was an opportunity for us to rehab some housing, and make it usable and safe,” Lesnick said. “We’ve essentially added housing to the market with this program, which is incredibly valuable.”
The new supportive housing is just one component of the broader SHINE Young Adult Housing program that Gándara offers. Lesnick said the center also offers services for young parents and provides a coordinated entry line that young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 can call when they are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Lesnick said that when young adults dial 413-316-4979, a housing navigator will answer and provide the services they need.
“They do a quick assessment, listen to what the needs are, where they’re at and then go from there with them,” Lesnick said of the entry line.
According to its website, Gándara delivers quality bilingual behavioral health, substance use and preventative services for a diverse clientele of nearly 15,000 children, adults and families each year in 100 locations across Massachusetts.
The center was founded in 1977.
