The City of Medford is launching a new program to offer participating landlords up to $750 per year for renting to veterans as a result of an ordinance passed by the City Council in January.
Veterans will be vetted by the city and then partnered with landlords through Housing Families, a local non-profit that works to ensure housing stability. The city is prohibited from giving money directly to citizens.
Veronica Shaw, the director of Veterans Services for Medford and an Army veteran, originated the program after noticing a pattern of housing discrimination impacting veterans.
According to Shaw, landlords have rejected veterans for having low credit or U.S. Veterans Affairs disability benefits, which they counted as a source of income. Some say they were rejected simply because they were veterans, despite having the funds to pay rent. She hopes the program will encourage landlords to take a chance on veterans.
“I want to change the narrative that veterans are not good renters or that they can’t hold jobs,” Shaw said.
As part of this new program, veterans will not be paid directly, nor will their rent be reduced. Money for the program will come from the existing budget of the Veterans’ Services Office and be given to Housing Families for disbursement to the landlords.
For now, funding has been allocated for four veteran-landlord pairings. Payments will be distributed to landlords in the form of a paper check. Informal applications to participate will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Shaw says $750 was chosen simply as a practical number due to the lack of a similar incentive for comparison in Massachusetts.
“What would make me be interested enough to rent to somebody?” she said in a presentation to the City Council. “I wanted to come up with a number that would make it worthwhile for somebody to take a chance on a veteran.”
All participants — veterans and landlords — must be Medford residents and will be required to provide documentation proving their residence in the city.
Shaw is eager to keep money inside the city and away from corporations that could take advantage of veterans. “This is Medford money coming out of my Medford Veterans [Services] budget going to Medford landlords,” she said.
Housing Families and its legal wing, Legal Aid for Well-Being and Stability, has deep ties to the city. Jayna Stafford, the director, says the relationship between Housing Families and Medford has been mutually supportive.
“We’re always happy to do whatever we can to support the communities where we work,” she said.
Veterans Services has several private landlords who have already agreed to help facilitate the program. Other landlords are highly encouraged to reach out.
“If there’s a private landlord that wants to take part in this, all they have to do is contact me or contact Housing Families, and we will get them set right up,” Shaw said.
The program is in its pilot phase, but Shaw hopes that it will grow in Medford and beyond. She says if more than four veterans and landlords express interest in participating, she will make it work.
Veterans Services is preparing brochures and a social media campaign to promote the program. Shaw also hopes Medford residents will help spread the word.
“A lot of things in Medford happen by word of mouth because it’s really such a tight-knit community,” she said.
Matt Leming, a Medford city councilor and Navy Reservist, says that the Council ordered a report on how the program performs in its first year. If the budget allows for it, he would like to see the program expand as well.
“Should that report come out favorably, and there is proof that the program was an aid in helping these veterans get housed, then that’s pretty good justification during our annual budget cycle to allocate more funding,” Leming said.
Stafford says Housing Families is prepared to grow the program if it becomes feasible.
“If [Housing Families] approached us and said ‘The program is going to be larger now, can you still be involved?’ I would definitely bring that to our internal leadership, and I think that would be great,” Stafford said.
Leming says programs like these are a reminder of the importance of supporting non-profits in the community. “Having this as a model and giving them funding is another mechanism that the city can use to support nonprofits like Housing Families in the future,” he said.
