As part of his senior project, Monomoy Regional High School student Rafael Abreu organized a presentation by Housing Assistance for 200 of his fellow high schoolers. Shannon Pyne, lead housing counselor & community educator, spoke to MRHS students about personal finance, credit, home ownership and civic engagement.

“Students need this information to avoid financial pitfalls,” said Cheri Armstrong, career education coordinator at MRHS. “They’re solicited with credit card offers right away at college, and for many of them, it’s the start of financial ruin. It takes a long time for them to recover from errors that they make when they’re young.” Armstrong also said it was important for students to have a better understanding of how town government works and the importance of contributing by attending town meeting.

“We know many high school students want to stay on the Cape after graduation or settle here eventually, but that dream is increasingly out of reach due to the housing crisis,” said Marissa Cyr, Housing Assistance Chief of Staff. “The idea of this program was to provide tools to help students set up a strong financial foundation and to understand the role they can play in shaping local policy decisions that will directly impact their future on Cape Cod. This fits in with our goal at Housing Assistance of empowering all residents – especially those who are often underrepresented – to make their voices heard and become advocates for the housing we desperately need.”