Boston, MA Kate Franco, CEO of Trinity Management LLC, was honored at HomeStart’s Fall Gala on September 20 with the President’s Award for her work with the organization’s Homelessness Prevention Program. 

HomeStart president Matt Pritchard extolled Franco’s dedication and determination to “put a permanent dent in homelessness,” by finding alternatives to eviction that include support services, life skills and money management with significant savings for property owners.

Trinity Management’s portfolio includes more than 5,000 affordable apartments, as well as market-rate apartments and condominiums. Franco, in her speech at the gala, spoke of the renewed pride and self-confidence that can be seen in those who once again have a home.

“It is comforting to know that in some small way we are breaking the cycle of repeated homelessness,” Franco said. 

In Massachusetts, the average age of a homeless person is 8 years, and 9,000 high school students are homeless, Pritchard told the crowd at the Seaport Boston Hotel, where Sheila Dillon, Boston’s chief of housing and director of neighborhood development, was also honored. Dillon received the Gold Key Award for her “ferocious” dedication to preventing homelessness. 

Most families are evicted for want of $1,500 or less in rent, but a homeless shelter costs the state $35,000 per person a year. That cost and the trauma to families are too great, he said. HomeStart was able to prevent eviction of 459 families last year with financial assistance of $700 or less per household. 95% percent are still in housing one year later. But there were 1,100 families that HomeStart couldn’t help for lack of funds, he added. 

The Fall Gala raised more than $100,000, which was topped off with $50,000 from one anonymous donor and $35,000 from another, for a grand total of more than $185,000, all of which will be used to assist families, Pritchard said. 

Trinity Development and Management was a major sponsor of the event, and Trinity Financial’s principle Jim Keefe was extremely proud of the management company’s CEO. “We knew we had a star when we hired her as CEO for the management company,” Keefe said, “and we are pleased to know how much she is appreciated by HomeStart and the wider homelessness prevention community.”