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Margulies Named Chair of Heading Home Board of Directors
Posted December 7, 2010
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Long-term supporter of homelessness organization brings expertise, commitment to role
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Heading Home, Inc., one of the Boston area's largest agencies devoted to helping the homeless, announced today that Marc Margulies, AIA, LEED AP, founder and principal of Margulies Perruzzi Architects, has assumed the role of chairman of its Board of Directors. A non-profit organization, Heading Home's mission is to end homelessness of individuals and families in Greater Boston by providing housing in conjunction with effective support services to help change the conditions that create homelessness. Marc began his two-year term as chairman on November 30th.
"Marc has been a steadfast presence with Heading Home for the past fifteen years," said Tom Lorello, executive director of Heading Home. "His generosity and commitment to the cause demonstrates the impact that caring individuals can have in the fight to end homelessness. We look forward to his leadership as Heading Home seeks to fulfill its mission to end homelessness in Greater Boston."
The perilous housing market and wave of foreclosures have displaced many people, and the issue of homelessness has become absolutely critical in the Greater Boston community. On any given night, there are more than 7,000 homeless people in Greater Boston, and the average age of a homeless person - and Heading Home client - is just eight years old. Sadly, not since the Great Depression have so many families been homeless. The number of homeless families is staggering and offers a glimpse into the depth of the affordable housing conundrum.
A national leader in the fight to end homelessness, Heading Home's success begins and ends with housing: how it's produced, how people are placed in it, and how the organization effectively transitions clients into permanent homes. With a focused initiative to relocate families out of hotels and into more stable and affordable environments, Heading Home's programs for families, including the Heading Home Partnership to End Family Homelessness, builds upon Massachusetts' emergency-oriented response to homelessness and provides families with an intensively supported pathway to housing, higher education, increased earnings through employment, and asset development. The development and implementation of the Partnership illustrates Heading Home's commitment to innovative new program models and the organization's belief in the necessity of forming strong working partnerships with other agencies. In 2010, Heading Home helped more than 2,000 homeless families and individuals in Greater Boston by providing them a place to call home and opportunities for self-sufficiency.
Marc has been involved with Heading Home for over 15 years, serving as both volunteer and director and applying his architectural skills and experience to advance the goal of ending homelessness. His involvement, along with his wife Anne's, has led to new and innovative initiatives within the organization. Marc and Anne were the 2008 recipients of an annual homeless advocacy award given by the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA). The MHSA Bob Ray Partnership Award honors the commitment of individuals in the private sector to ending homelessness. Marc and Anne also started and co-chaired the first annual Heading Home "Housewarming" event in 1997, a fundraising evening that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Their son Tucker showed the same family commitment by modeling his Eagle Scout project, the cosmetic renovation of the McKay House, to benefit Heading Home.
Heading Home has been a significant focus of Margulies Perruzzi Architects' (MPA) philanthropy, and MPA staff members have volunteered their time and expertise to Heading Home. In 2008, MPA's second project involved the conversion of an historic building in Cambridge, Massachusetts from a two-family home to single-room housing for disabled female clients of Heading Home. The design involved the complete gutting and renovation of the historic house, while restoring the existing façade to its original 1860s look, including window placement. MPA's staff and their families celebrated the firm's 20th anniversary by volunteering to install landscaping around the renovated building that serves as a 14-bedroom supportive housing facility for homeless women. MPA recently donated to the Big Sisters Association IFMA Golf Tournament, which benefited Heading Home.
About Heading Home
Heading Home, formerly Shelter Inc., is a non-profit whose mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston by providing housing in conjunction with effective support services to help change the conditions that create homelessness. Founded in 1974 by a small group of concerned citizens in Cambridge, Heading Home today operates programs focused on smaller home-like settings with individualized attention in the communities of Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Malden, Medford, Everett and Quincy. For more information, visit http://headinghomeinc.org.
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