News and Press Releases
CEEH is now Hearth!
After years of debate, the Committee to End Elder Homelessness has changed its name to Hearth, a name which more accurately embodies our work and mission to find and house frail and complex elders in the community. The new name became official on September 12. In the coming months, you will see a vibrant new logo reflecting the energy and warmth of Hearth. You will also see a change in our letterhead design, website and newsletter.
“Although our name has changed, our mission has not,” confirmed Elisabeth Babcock, Hearth president and CEO. “You can expect the same resolve and fortitude from us that you have seen through the years as we continue growing and expanding our innovative service care model for elders.”
Because of the many lessons we have learned and the outcomes we have seen, Hearth is poised to bring this model to scale. With expected burgeoning growth in the next few years, Hearth decided to tackle the problem that has been a point of contention for years – its name. The concerns associated with being called the Committee to End Elder Homelessness were numerous and varied. First among the most compelling concerns is the fact that the organization is no longer a “committee.” It is permanent and will be around as long as it takes for elder homelessness to be gone for good. Second is the fact that our residents are no longer homeless – they are home for good. And finally Hearth is quite simply a lot easier to say and remember and sounds better than – CEEH, the Committee to End Elder Homelessness. After months of careful deliberation and work with a volunteer marketing professional, the Board voted to change our name.
During the short period of the Committee’s existence, five permanent residences with support services have been created for 120 homeless elders. We have learned many lessons about what it takes to move homeless elders, who often suffer from complex physical and mental health troubles, into new homes and have them stay. We have learned that it is a lot more difficult to find homes for homeless elders than it is to prevent them from losing their homes in the first place. We have learned that by having nurses, social workers, case managers, homemakers and other staff close by, our residents’ mental and physical health vastly improve, allowing them to live independently in their own homes. We have learned that, as a result of having this kind of stability and support, many of our residents are able to become once again contributing members of the community through volunteer work or a job. We have also learned that elder homelessness is an ongoing problem.
It has become clear that the elder homelessness crisis will continue to rise. Today 1 in 6 Americans, or 44 million people, are 60 years or older, and, in the next decade the elder population will double in size as baby boomers enter retirement age. Right now, there are 20,000 elders in Boston who live below the poverty line. The homeless portion of that population is over 1,000 and growing at 17% per year. It can cost the state an average of $66,000 per year per person to provide frail elders nursing home care. Tapping into public and private resources and a unique service delivery model, Hearth is able to provide permanent housing and services to many of these needy elders at one-third the state’s cost.
Therefore, Hearth’s goal over the next few years is to rescue and permanently house 350 elders-at-risk while concurrently enabling other states and organizations to take advantage of its proven methodologies and practices. Hearth is also the only community-based elder provider that serves as a fellowship training site for Harvard’s Geriatric Training Program, which includes fellowships in medicine, dentistry and psychiatry. This new collaboration will greatly expand our training and research efforts.
We hope you are excited as we are about our new name and the challenging new ventures ahead. Help us spread the good news that we are not just a Committee any more: we are now Home for Good!