Our Programs
Founded in 1816, City Mission Society of Boston (CMS) is the oldest multi-service social justice agency in New England. Our services reach over 45,000 people each year. Its purpose is to meet the educational, economic, social, and advocacy needs of impoverished residents in the Boston neighborhoods. CMS partners with congregations and community agencies to fulfill its dynamic vision of providing services in the context of empowering residents, especially youth, to be active participants in changing their neighborhoods and their lives.
Today, CMS sponsors a number of programs which enable youth and adults to reach their full potential. City Mission Society has three focus areas for its programming: Homelessness Prevention, Youth Peace Empowerment, and Community Engagement. While addressing distinct issues, the three focus areas overlap to form a coherent whole.
Housing Assistance for Families and Individuals
Homelessness Prevention Programs (HPP) cultivate the strengths and abilities of individuals and families on the brink of homelessness, offering resources such as flexible financial assistance and/or holistic case management. The programs provide education and leverages community resources that move the participants toward housing stability.
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. When available, financial assistance is 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.
Leadership Training for Youth
Youth Peace Empowerment (YPE) is a set of community and faith based programs that are based on the core values of self-esteem, mutual respect, leadership, education, spirituality, fun and community. We provide a safe and structured environment that will allow youth to reach their full potential. We develop and train them on life skills that will empower them, the church and their community.
YPE Leadership and Summer Programs are a cooperative effort with churches and agencies in Roxbury and Dorchester. They expose young people to positive role models while learning useful life skills and violence prevention techniques.
“Jahmol’s Vision for Youth Peace,” a CMS-produced video, aims 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.
Service Opportunities for Congregations and School Groups
The Community Engagement Programs (CEP) design and develop community partnerships that teach about social justice, deepen faith, promote understanding and create mutual respect across perceived differences. CEP develops habits of service and learning among young people and cultivates a new generation of CMS supporters.
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.
Seminarians in the City is a training program in urban ministry that is consistent with our mission to engage the faith community in promoting social justice in the city of Boston and beyond.
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 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:
- MIT/Boston Public Schools: coordinate the assembly of LEGO Biology kits.
- Newton Community Center: clean, paint, and organize at ten non-profit agencies.
- Victory Programs: serve at residential treatment and housing facilities for homeless individuals and families.
- Prison Book Program: select, package, and mail books for distribution to prisoners throughout the U.S.
