On Beacon Hill, affordable housing advocates and tenants call for support for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program
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On Wednesday, affordable housing advocates and tenants from across Massachusetts came together at the State House to call for increased funding
and permanency for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP).
MRVP provides housing stability to over 11,000 households with low and extremely low incomes, including seniors, persons with disabilities,
and families across the state.
Residents from every 2Life campus joined more than 200 advocates
on Beacon Hill. The group included tenants who benefit from MRVP vouchers and advocates from the organizations who organized the event: lead coordinator
Mass
Alliance of HUD Tenants and coalition partners 2Life Communities,
Haley
House, Citizens’
Housing & Planning Association (CHAPA), Massachusetts
Coalition for the Homeless, EMPath, Community
Teamwork, and
Rosie’s
Place.
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The message is twofold. First, advocates seek an increase in MRVP funding in the state budget to $300 million (up from the governor’s FY27
request for $278 million) to create access to deeply affordable housing for an additional 1,000 extremely low-income households. Second, the group calls on legislators to make MRVP a permanent state program, which could be achieved by passing bill S.2826 /
H.1547 to codify the program into law. The result would be long-term predictability for tenants, developers, and property managers who rely on the program.
The group delivered that message along with hundreds of house-shaped cookies, decorated with the coalition’s FY27 budget request of $300 million.
The day began in the State House’s Great Hall. Speakers included
Carmen Allen and Victor Brogna of Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants, Tiffany Jenkins of EMPath’s Voices Advocacy Council, and 2Life residents Rita Gibbons and Alice Schwinger.
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"For the first time in over 30 years, I’m not constantly worried
about money. For the first time, I feel safe. For the first time, I can truly tell my daughter I’m okay. That peace is because of MRVP and 2Life Communities."
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Rita Gibbons, 2Life resident
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“Even with a steady job and working constantly, I was barely making
ends meet. I lost count of how many times I struggled to avoid foreclosure,” said Gibbons, who moved into Leland House when it opened in 2024. “For the first time in over 30 years, I’m not constantly worried about money. For the first time, I feel safe. For
the first time, I can truly tell my daughter I’m okay. That peace is because of MRVP and 2Life Communities.”
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“I’m 79 years old, and I’m the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. I have the security of a beautiful home I know I can afford,” said Schwinger.
“I’m surrounded by people who care about me. That is what stability looks like. That is what dignity feels like. I wish this peace for every senior, every individual, and every family.”
Also speaking in support were Representative Richard Haggerty, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing; Representative Aaron Michlewitz,
House Chair of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means; and staff from the offices of Senator Joan Lovely and Representative Adrian Madaro. Advocates honored Michlewitz with the 2026 “Big Cookie” award in recognition of his steadfast leadership on behalf of
MRVP in the past several budgets.
Following the speaking program, groups dispersed throughout the
State House to meet with their legislators. They delivered cookies, shared their personal experiences with MRVP and other affordable housing programs, and reinforced the importance of support for the program.
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2Life Communities
30 Wallingford Road, Brighton, MA 02135
© 2026 2Life Communities
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