The Enterprise
By Elizabeth Saito
The homelessness prevention group Belonging To Each Other is poised to purchase the Gerald Flynn House on Palmer Avenue, the group’s first real estate acquisition.
The house, owned by the Falmouth Housing Trust since 1995, currently serves as a group home for low-income residents on rent assistance. The house has seven bedrooms for residents and one for an on-site manager.
“Rental management takes a lot of time and staffing,” said Laura M. Moynihan, Falmouth Housing Trust’s executive director. The Housing Trust’s main mission is building for-sale affordable homes, and money from the sale of the Gerald Flynn House will be invested in affordable home ownership opportunities, she said.
“The house has been providing a public service for decades,” Ms. Moynihan said. “And now someone else wants to provide that public service.”
“It more naturally fits the work that we do,” said Belong To Each Other’s executive director Gina Torielli. “Each of us will be stronger because of this change.”
No current tenants will be asked to leave, Ms. Torielli said. Instead, BTEO envisions a transitional period,where their network of social workers can support residents’ move to more traditional housing. The group home can then house Falmouth’s homeless residents during the off-season.
BTEO has been housing Falmouth’s homeless in various winter rentals from November to April. During that time a suite of social workers provide counseling, guidance and support, with the end goal of finding the person stable, year-round housing.