Anne Gelbspan is Project Manager, Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 02108; tel.(617)367-0520. Janet Van Zandt serves as Executive Director, Boston Aging Concerns-Young and Old United, 67 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass. 02116; 617/266-2257.

Grandparents raising their grandchildren is an increasing phenomenon across the country. The first housing specially designed for these families recently opened in Boston. These grandparents-most typically just a grandmother-are stepping in because of the "missing generation," parents who could not care for their children because of immaturity, substance abuse, AIDS, or death. There has been a 67% increase in the number of children raised by their grandparents since 1980 according to the US census. Today, 1.4 million children live in a grandparent-headed family without the parent present. It cuts across all races and income groups. These grandparents step in to raise yet another generation to keep the family together. They represent the strengths of their families. Their task is extraordinary and it was largely unnoticed until recently.

"GrandFamilies House" is a 27 unit building that incorporates spaces and services that support these families. The project is the result of a collaboration among three agencies-Boston Aging Concerns-Young and Old United (BAC-YOU), the Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development, and the Boston YWCA-and creatively adapted public funding. The Women's Institue has collaborated with grassroots groups and other non-profit agencies since 1981 to bring technical expertise to a vision-usually resulting in housing that incorporates a supportive community, e.g. transitional housing for homeless families, Haitian immigrants seeking to develop a housing with a community center, housing for parenting teens, etc. Boston Aging Concerns-Young and Old United (BAC-YOU), co-developer of GrandFamilies House, is an agency that for 25 years has served elderly individuals in need and runs several intergenerational residences.

GrandFamilies House is the culmination of four years of research and planning. A study of 50 parenting grandparents, conducted by BAC-YOU, showed significant health problems and very low incomes ($5,000 to $15,000). In addition to their poverty, these families also encountered many regulatory problems. Many school and health centers do not recognize grandparents as primary caretakers. Grandparents frequently avoid involvement by the State Department of Social Services and therefore are provided significantly less financial support under Transitional Assistance to Needy Families (formerly welfare) than foster parents. Many families are ineligible for elderly housing because they disallow children. And if the elderly grandparent is exempt from the work requirement in welfare reform, the child is ineligible for daycare vouchers, denying the child early enrichment and the grandparent a break.

Of the grandparents surveyed, all cited the difficulty raising children in isolation. They never expected to be raising another generation, and they lack the supports parents typically rely on. Most mentioned the need for affordable housing and half expressed a desire for housing specially designed for them that would offer both formal supports on-site and the opportunity for peer companionship. "I am hoping that we (the families) can get support and comfort in each other by meeting occasionally, talking about some of the problems that we have, trying to find ways to ease the burden-and the children can grow up together," said Carrie Parker, one of the new residents.

BAC-YOU and the Women's Institute merged their strengths in a partnership to develop this new and challenging project that BAC-YOU now owns and manages. YWCA Boston was brought in as a collaborating partner because of their experience providing programs for families. BAC-YOU formed a Task Force of parenting grandparents to help empower GrandFamilies to express a collective voice on issues affecting them and to support this project. The project, which involved the total reconstruction and expansion of a dilapidated former nursing home that had been vacant for more than 20 years, had tremendous support on all levels, in the community and among the funding agencies.

The result is a beautiful brick and clapboard building with generous bays that contains 26 family-sized apartments with special features such as grab bars, shared laundries on each floor, an elevator, a playground in the rear, and a unit for a live-in manager. Located at the entry is a common meeting room and the office of the Resident Services Coordinator. This on-site staff person facilitates house meetings on issues, brings in legal aid experts and counselors, accesses other services or simply organizes transportation with the GrandFamilies on-site van. The former basement has been renovated into generous and brightly colored program space where the YWCA has started a pre-school for 3- and 4-year olds, and an after-school enrichment program in which both the children and their grandparents receive computer education. A fitness program for the elders is also planned.

Bringing it all together was a challenge. Pro-bono attorneys at Goodwin Procter & Hoar provided the glue with their extraordinary commitment and skills. The alphabet soup of public and private financing included tax credit equity-one of the last major sources of financing available-but one that has cumbersome regulations and process. [ For example, public housing financing sources do not pay for the necessary program space. To be eligible and competitive for funding approval, the cost per unit needed to be kept low. As a result, the number of units were increased so that the cost of the critical program space could be spread over enough units to support it while still keeping the cost per unit down. ]

Given the very low incomes of these GrandFamilies, it was crucial to find a way to subsidize the rents despite the fact that federally funded rent subsidies are no longer allocated to projects, but only to eligible people. With the help of the Mass. Department of Communities and Development, Women's Institute and BAC-YOU developed a new demonstration program of subsidies in a city/state partnership (50 from the City and 50 from the State) specifically allocated for eligible grandparents raising their grandchildren and in need of services. These rent subsidies became the linch-pin that made the project feasible and are a key element of any replication. In addition to the families using their subsidies in the GrandFamilies House, other parenting grandparents can now afford to live in housing in the nearby community, making it possible for them to participate in the support programs at the GrandFamilies House.

It is anticipated that the GrandFamilies House will become a model that will be watched and replicated in other parts of the country. While the Women's Institute's role co-developing the GrandFamilies House will be complete, this house is the base for other evolving initiatives to support other "GrandFamilies" in the community.