Our Programs
HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION The Emergency Needs Network (ENN) assists some of Greater Boston’s most vulnerable individuals and families who are in crisis due to illness, unemployment, low income, or sudden emergencies. Financial assistance is available on a one-time basis to resolve an immediate problem. Information, referral and advocacy services assist clients to identify resources which may provide long-term assistance. A Lift Up serves female-headed households, providing flexible funding and up to a year of case management to assure that they remain in stable housing and to support them on the path to economic self-sufficiency. YOUTH PEACE EMPOWERMENT Youth Peace Empowerment (Y.P.E.) is a cooperative effort with churches in Roxbury and Dorchester. It exposes young people to positive role models while learning useful life skills and violence prevention techniques through an Afterschool and a summer program. The Peace Workshops are based on the CMS-produced video “Jahmol’s Vision for Youth Peace.” The Workshops aim to reach at-risk youth and promote non-violence, using as an example the video, which focuses on the challenge facing a group of young people to promote peace in the climate of escalating teen handgun violence.The City Mission Society is an urban social justice agency serving over 4,500 people each year. We are the oldest multi-service agency in New England, addressing the educational, economic and social needs of impoverished area residents since 1816. CMS catalyzes strategic partnerships to provide service, education and advocacy. Our programs help youth and adults reach their full potential while providing opportunities for congregations and communities to engage in social action and change.
As a multi-service agency, City Mission Society has three focus areas for its programming: Homelessness Prevention, Youth Peace Promotion, and Faith and Community Engagement. While addressing distinct issues, the three focus areas overlap to form a coherent whole.
CMS devotes its resources to identifying and assisting families and individuals who are at risk of homelessness, as it is far more caring and cost-effective to intervene before someone needs to become re-housed.
CMS provides educational and recreational activities that encourage youth to play a positive role in their communities.
Youth Arts for Academic Achievement is a partnership with three under-resourced elementary school in Boston. It illustrates our commitment to bring arts education to at-risk, low-income, disadvantaged students.
FAITH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Boston Urban Outreach brings together groups of youth and adults from all over the country to perform service projects, worship together, and learn first-hand about social justice issues. Day-long, overnight and extended stay programming is available. Groups stay at a local inner-city church, gaining a unique opportunity to develop new relationships and experience what it means to serve others.
CMS invites religious congregations and other groups to take part in service projects that challenge their notion of “who is my neighbor” while they work and learn in the neighborhoods of Boston.
The Christmas Shop brings the joy of the holiday season to over a thousand children and adults in the Boston area. Each year more than 200 volunteers gather and distribute over 10,000 toys and clothing items directly to CMS clients and other families in crisis. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and Learning invites volunteers of all ages to honor the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. by offering their services at a dozen or more sites in
and around Boston. The event is sponsored by City Mission Society of
Boston with the support of the Metropolitan Boston Association of the
United Church of Christ. Previous volunteer activities included:
- Painting and maintenance at MISSION SAFE youth program
- Packaging books at PRISON BOOK PROGRAM
- Clothing Drive with CHILDREN'S CLOTHING EXCHANGE
Quick Look at CMS programs in action
