Celebrating 50 Years of Service to Our Community
This year, Housing Assistance proudly celebrates 50 years of service to the Cape and Islands community! As the region has evolved, so has our agency. Starting as a small rental voucher agency in 1974, today we have grown to offer a wide range of services and programs. From family shelters to rental assistance to financial education, to energy audits, to construction and attainable housing development, our mission is to help bridge the wide gap from homelessness to home ownership. As we celebrate our history and milestones below, we look forward to the next 50 years as we continue our work to elevate the Cape and Islands economy and community, empower residents of all ages and income levels, and address the root causes of our housing crisis.
1970s
- Founded with office in West Yarmouth.
- State Chapter 707 Rental Assistance is first program.
Begin administering HUD Section 8 Rental Assistance program on Cape Cod.
Weatherization services start.
Self-Help Housing helps 87 families purchase land and build their own homes.
Island Elderly Housing starts on Martha’s Vineyard.
1980s
87 Winter Street Family Shelter opens. NOAH Shelter opens at the Armory in Hyannis with 28 beds.
First Cape Walk to End Homelessness. NOAH Shelter moves to 77 Winter St. Hyannis with 50 beds. Housing Asistance main office moves to 460 W. Main St., Hyannis
The O’Neill Health Clinic (now the Duffy Health Center) opens in a closet at the NOAH Shelter.
Cape Homeowner Center opens under the name Cape Clearinghouse for First Time Home-buyers. Carriage House Family Shelter opens in Falmouth.
1990s
First affordable housing lottery for Anthony Drive in Hyannis.
- Angel House shelter opens for families who are homeless and recovering from substance abuse.
- The Family Self-Sufficiency program starts for Section 8 clients.
- Project Prevention launches to get families out of motels.
HOME Downpayment & Closing Cost Assistance and Soft Second Mortgage programs start.
Bryan P. Chase House opens for clients transitioning from the NOAH Shelter. Founders Courtyard opens (32 rental units) in Hyannis.
2000s
Housing Consumer Education Center is established to provide information and mediation help for those in need. Housing Assistance’s Cape Community Real Estate is born.
The Village at Cataumet opens, providing shelter for 18 families. Cape Affordable Monitoring Program (CAMP) started to monitor deed-restricted properties in Barnstable County.
- 1st Annual NOAH Telethon.
- Finlay Road in Orleans (3 ownership units) and Southside Village in Hyannis (14 rental units) projects completed.
Housing center is coordinated at Otis AFB for 200 people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Pocasset Assisted Living in Bourne (84 rental units) and Wells Court in Brewster (24 rental units) projects completed.
Housing Assistance hosts a Workforce Housing Summit; a workforce housing community task force formed. Gallagher Lane, Marstons Mills (7 ownership units) project completed.
Foreclosure Education and Prevention Center established.
Lombard Farm in West Barnstable (12 rental units), Kimber Woods in West Barnstable (28 rental units) and The Residences at Canal Bluffs in Bourne (28 rental units) projects completed.
2010s
- Work with Cotuit Solar erect solar panels at Angel House, NOAH, and main office.
- Big Fix starts, organized by AmeriCorps volunteers, rehabbed 22 Barnstable homes.
Housing Assistance selected to develop 50 affordable housing units on Nantucket and 27 rental units in Dennis, and to administer 25 Section 8 vouchers for Cape homeless veterans through HUD. Energy services increase 300% due to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation awards HAC a three-year grant to fund the ARC program at Angel House. Construction begins construction on Clay Pond Cove, Bourne (45 rental units for seniors).
Construction starts at Great Cove Community, Mashpee (10 rental units). 252 households apply for 12 rental units on Stage Coach Road in Centerville.
Housing Assistance awarded annual Community Investment Tax Credits. Great Cove Community in Mashpee adds 10 units of affordable housing.
Melpet Farm Residences completed, adding 27 rental units to the region. Housing Assistance manages the lottery for 14 units of affordable, assisted living at Maplewood in Brewster.
First phase of Sachem’s Path, 15 homes on Nantucket, completed. NOAH shelter transitioned to Catholic Social Services. Housing Assistance continues operations of four family shelters.
Housing Assistance welcomes new CEO Alisa Magnotta, as founder and CEO Rick Presbrey retires. Cape Community Housing Partnership launches housing training for municipal employees and officials, advocacy training for citizens, and public education campaign.
- High Meadow Townhomes affordable housing in Bourne opens, adding 44 new apartments.
- Housing on Cape Cod: The High Cost of Doing Nothing report released. Housing Legacy Fund established.
A dozen year-round rental units are added through Rent365, a conversion program for seasonal rentals. Construction begins on an innovative project in Hyannis that combines low-income and market rate workforce apartments.
2020s
Over the course of the COVID pandemic, Housing Assistance distributes over $10 million in rental assistance. Begin collaboration with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod to create Grow Smart maps to prioritize areas for affordable housing and natural resource protection.
My Home Plus One offers technical assistance and financial incentives to homeowners adding an ADU (accessible dwelling unit).
- THRIVE program provides rental assistance to workers in essential industries.
- The Housing to Protect Cape Cod (HPCC) coalition convenes a housing summit.
- Housing Assistance opens a new office in Orleans to better assist Lower and Outer Cape residents.
- Alisa Magnotta serves on Gov. Maura Healey’s transition committee on housing.
- Town huddles advance HPCC goals at local level, and workshops train new housing advocates.
- Brewster Woods (30 apartments) welcomes new residents.
- LeClair Village (39 apartments) in Mashpee completed.
- Family Shelters and programming consolidated to new location in Dennis, existing shelter properties converted to year-round housing.
- New attainable rental and ownership properties under development in Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, and Orleans.
