Living Well at Home is Boston Medical Center’s Housing Services Department. Our mission is to end the cycle of homelessness and improve the health and wellbeing of our community.
We do this by relentlessly advocating on behalf of our clients, removing barriers to housing, and providing the support needed for people to transform their lives. Our approach is rooted in principles of housing-first, harm reduction, self-determination, anti-racism, cultural competency, accessibility, accountability, and transparency.
Contact Us
Email: Housing.FAQ&Referrals@bmc.org
Phone: 617.638.6139
Address: 960 Massachusetts Avenue 3rd Floor, Boston, MA, 02118
“Having my own place has helped me get back out into the world. I can see all these paths opening for me. I can’t say enough how helpful the team at BMC have been.”
Services We Offer
Through individualized, long-term case management our housing and community support specialists and social workers support our clients with:
Housing search: We assist clients experiencing homelessness search for housing that fits their needs, including identifying housing options, obtaining vital documents, and addressing barriers to housing.
Housing stabilization: Once they’re in housing, we support our clients to help them thrive in independent living through ongoing case management, coordination with benefits and healthcare services, and education on maintaining tenancies.
Homelessness prevention: In cases where someone may be at risk of losing their housing, we provide support to help them maintain housing or move to a more suitable location.
Behavioral health support: Our embedded team of clinicians support our clients with their behavioral health needs through referrals to behavioral health services, individual counseling, and crisis management.
Peer support: Our services include weekly group sessions for older adults to support the transition from homelessness to stable housing through the transformative power of peer support.
Who We Serve
We serve people experiencing homelessness and people who are at risk of homelessness. Our specific program eligibility criteria can be found here.
Housing gives clients a fresh start and a new opportunity to continue to grow. For some clients that have not been housed for years they are super grateful and all they want was a roof over their head and a level of safety and responsibility as well.
Make a Referral
If you have someone you would like to refer, or you would like to refer yourself, complete this form with as much information as possible, and send a copy via email to Housing.FAQ&Referrals@bmc.org.
BMC providers: You can submit a referral/orders through Epic via the “Ambulatory Referral To Living Well at Home Program”
If you are interested in peer support group services, please email this form to Lora Brugnaro at Lora.Brugnaro@bmc.org.
History and Impact
Established in 1986, our program was originally named Elders Living at Home and worked primarily with older adults experiencing housing instability. In 2022, Elders Living at Home merged with the Housing Prescriptions Program to create one housing services department - Living Well at Home.
For more than 35 years, our program has developed innovative programs and services at the intersection of housing and healthcare, supporting more than 8,000 people over our history. In fiscal year 2024 we worked with over 700 clients, helping house or preserve housing for 199 households.
Living without a home is barely surviving and sometimes people don’t survive. This is why it’s important to patients. I personally see that the matter of life and death. Living homeless from my perspective, create a level of stress which we can imagine who have homes. Folks often living in perpetual anxiety, frustration, living with untreated, health issues, health and physical, experience for nutrition, and always have to live in hypervigilance. As soon as they are housed, there’s an opportunity to resolve these health concerns, which just is impossible when someone is homeless. Housing saves lives. This is why I do the work I do.
Living Well at Home in the Media
- Team BMC Takes Steps Toward Housing Stability for Patients at Winter Walk 2025
- More than 42K families waiting for Boston housing; Price tag could exceed $1 billion
- Webinar - Housing, Homelessness, and Health: What Can Health Systems Do?
Get Involved
We are frequently hiring for new positions. View BMC’s job postings for Living Well at Home here. We also often have opportunities for internships for undergraduates and Social Workers in training. If you are interested in working with us, email Housing.FAQ&Referrals@bmc.org and let us know!