ISHI Planning Process
In September of 2017, a Planning Committee of funders and community partners was formed to begin framing the research and discovery period, ISHI’s purpose and desired outcomes, and to convene an Advisory Committee.
The Research and Discovery period included a literature review, key informant interviews, focus groups with residents and organizations, and feedback sessions. Key outcomes were categorized by demographics, neighborhood, and themes:
Demographics: specific populations were identified as marginalized or excluded from existing systems. This includes families facing eviction; immigrants (undocumented and refugee); People of Color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth; Black men (single men and single fathers); seniors; and persons with a criminal offender record.
Neighborhoods: though displacement affects many neighborhoods, East Boston, Mattapan, North Dorchester, and Roxbury were prioritized as most at risk.
Four overarching themes, and potential strategies, emerged from the process to directly shape and provide opportunities for grantmaking:
Greater Alignment for Collective Impact: Opportunities for housing experts, service providers, developers, and government to get on the same page about what it means to be housing stable and to streamline processes across systems.
Preserving and Creating Affordable Housing Supply: Opportunities to identify more strategic uses of land and development that sustain affordable housing across the city.
Pathways to Social and Economic Mobility: Opportunities for individual and families to become more economically stable and close the wealth gap.
Community Engagement and Activism: Opportunities to invest in grassroots efforts in community organizing and urban planning that support anti-displacement.
In April 2018, an Advisory Committee — of housing advocates, healthcare providers, and community residents — was formed to move the ISHI process forward. Based on the outcomes of the research and discovery period, the Advisory Committee developed the goals, vision, values, and theory of change, to support a resident-centered process. Four key principles that inform the ISHI framework include:
Centering Values: ISHI utilizes an equity framework that focuses on racism, classism, and other forms of marginalization as the root causes of housing instability.
Collaborative Learning: ISHI’s grantmaking structure forges communication between grantmakers and grantees to facilitate further engagement. The leadership committee—comprised of funders, grantees, participants, residents, community members and ISHI support staff—and other collaborative spaces, such as the Learning Community, create space to strengthen collaborations to address housing instability in Boston.
Multilevel Approach: ISHI funds approaches at every level of the housing crisis through the Flex and Upstream funds. The Flex Fund provides emergency support services and quick access to resources for individuals and families to maintain or find stable housing. The Upstream Fund supports policy and systems-level change efforts related to stable housing.
Participatory Grantmaking: To achieve lasting impact, ISHI’s grantmaking approach addresses housing instability through multiple investment approaches that engage residents most impacted by the housing crisis.