How We Started

From founder and executive director Rick Presbrey in the 1980 Annual Report:  

Housing Assistance Corporation was incorporated in 1974 to assist low-income local residents to acquire decent and affordable housing. At that time, there was a specific need to provide state rental assistance (Chapter 707) to families living in non-housing authority towns on Cape Cod and the Islands and to provide some local help for households facing eviction in the spring at the beginning of the tourist season. In 1975, funds became available to operate the Federal Rental Assistance Program (Section 8), first in the non-housing authority towns. Several months later, a change in HUD regulations required that we provide assistance in all Cape and Islands towns.  

In 1976, with the help of the Community Action Committee, and using CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) labor when it was available, we began a home winterization program, which provided labor for those homeowners who could pay for inexpensive energy-saving materials. Today the HAC winterization program is extremely effective. It provided materials and labor to over 250 households last year to make their homes healthier and less expensive to operate, while also providing useful job experience to crew members through CETA.

Also in 1976, we became involved in an effort on Martha’s Vineyard to develop the first low-income housing for the elderly on that island. While the effort has been a long one, the Island Elderly Housing, Inc., board of directors has been persistent. They received notification late in March of this year that the project had been approved by the Farmers Home Administration and that construction could begin as early as this spring on 40 one- and two-bedroom units just outside of Vineyard Haven.  

Since 1976, a growing team of paid staff and volunteers has been actively involved in more than a dozen programs, including individual and group counseling, energy workshops, assistance to towns in housing planning, building repairs for individuals and non-profit groups, housing development and management assistance, “emergency” rental assistance, and fuel assistance. In 1980, assistance was provided to about 5,000 low-income households.