The Massachusetts Select Board Association held its first program webinar of the year today, discussing best practices for affordable housing trusts.

Shelly Goehring, senior program manager at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, gave an overview of housing trust basics, including relevant state laws, processes for establishing a trust, and what trusts can do.

Goehring discussed operations and best practices for housing trusts, providing a number of case studies for reference. She also reviewed a number of free, online resources available to municipalities through the Housing Partnership.

Caitlin Madden, executive director of Metrowest Collaborative Development, provided an overview of the work being done by her organization and discussed why communities should prioritize affordable housing.

Madden discussed successful housing projects that her organization has worked on in partnership with Affordable Housing Trusts in Medway and Hudson. She described the “secret sauce” that made the projects successful, with a strong emphasis on local leadership.

Kathryn Roy, chair of the Lexington Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee, discussed how her committee was able to successfully advocate for the establishment of a trust, which was adopted by a special town meeting in 2022.

• Our Experience Working With Affordable Housing Trusts – Metrowest Collaborative Development presentation (3.5M PDF)
• Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee – Lexington presentation (915K PDF)
• Affordable Housing Trust Funds – Massachusetts Housing Partnership presentation (3.5M PDF)