Taste of Dorchester is April 29th

Join us on April 29, 2021 at 7pm for a virtual Taste of Dorchester! Spend a fun hour with us on Zoom and support MAHA and our Dorchester restaurants at the same time.

Mayor Walsh Announces New Funding to Support First-Generation Homebuyers

MAHA Releases Bold Homeownership Justice Vision

Monday, February 8, 2021 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the City of Boston is providing new homebuyers up to $5,000 through the First-Generation Homebuyer Program. The program assists income-eligible first-generation homebuyers in purchasing a home in Boston for the first time with a 2:1 matching program.

One in Five Banks Receive Outstanding CRA Ratings in 2020; None for Credit Unions and Mortgage Companies

January 31, 2021 – Of the 54 Community Reinvestment Act ratings awarded to Massachusetts banks during 2020, twelve (22.2%) were “Outstanding", according to a report issued today by the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA).

MAHA's Symone Crawford Named to National Insurance Panel

Jan. 25, 2021 — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently named MAHA's Director of Homeownership Education Symone Crawford and 41 other community leaders from across the country as consumer liaison representatives for 2021. The 23 funded and 19 unfunded consumer representatives began their terms Jan. 1. Thirteen of the funded consumer representatives participated in the program in 2020.

MAHA Wins New Dollars for Affordable Housing

January 6, 2021 - In a huge victory for MAHA and our coalition partners, the state legislature just passed a home rule petition that will allow Boston to substantially increase Linkage fees that large scale commercial developers must pay for affordable housing and job training.

MAHA Phone Bank Engages Thousands of Voters

MAHA’s voter outreach team didn’t miss a beat as we went virtual this year. We talked to 2,269 MAHA-connected voters, giving them vital information about early voting, polling locations, and tracking their mail in ballots. We connected with hundreds of people who want to join our work to ensure development and lending in Boston reflects the needs of our residents. And we generated calls and emails to state representatives and senators asking them to redouble their efforts to move MAHA’s priority legislation.

A big thank you to our dedicated and talented phone bank team!

MAHA Classes to Continue On Zoom in 2021

As 2020 winds to close, a couple of things are clear. COVID-19 is still with us and and a return to our pre-pandemic patterns is not wise. And our live Zoom-based homebuyer and homeowner classes are popular! We are on track to graduate more homebuyers than at any time in our 30 year history of offering homeownership education. That is why this decision is an easy one. MAHA will continue to offer a full schedule of live Zoom classes through, at least, June 2021 and perhaps beyond. Sign up today.

ONE+Boston Mortgage Program is Launched

First ever program in Boston combines down payment and closing cost assistance with a record low interest rate mortgage

Black Lives Matter

Instead of a single organizational statement as our community and our nation react to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and countless other acts of racist violence in our nation, we asked our staff to share their thoughts and feelings individually. These powerful and painful words serve as MAHA’s collective statement. Black lives matter.

Turns out a virtual Taste of Dorchester is fun too!

It was an engaging 75 minutes with a couple of great conversations with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George and demonstrations from Ice Creamsmith, Family Affair Restaurant & Catering, Irie Jamaican Style Restaurant and Boston Harbor Distillery.

MAHA raised $12,149 to be split between our programs and a Dorchester restaurant relief fund. If you missed it (or were shut out because of our technical problems) you can watch the fun and figure out which Dorchester restaurant you want to try next.

Breaking down barriers for first-time and first-gen homebuyers and closing the racial wealth gap!