Region – Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) received the first-ever “Making a Difference” award from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) at their annual conference in Washington, D.C., March 16. NAHRO selected Eldridge to receive the national award due to his leadership as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Housing to pass the state’s largest affordable housing bond bill in Massachusetts history and public housing authority reform legislation that increases accountability and transparency through the establishment of performance benchmarks, board member and executive director trainings, and annual audits conducted by independent auditors.
“It was a tremendous honor to accept the NAHRO ‘Making a Difference’ award at their conference in Washington, D.C., last week,” Eldridge said. “As the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Housing for the past four years, receiving this recognition is one of the highest honors of my career in public service, and I look forward to continuing to work with MassNAHRO to ensure that housing is accessible and affordable for all families and individuals across Massachusetts, for generations to come.”
“The legislative contributions and commitment by Senator Eldridge to preserving and improving the 46,000 apartments of low-income housing provided by local housing authorities in 242 communities make him a most worthy recipient of the ‘Making a Difference’ award,” said Thomas J. Connelly Jr., executive director of MassNAHRO. “MassNAHRO applauds Senator Eldridge for his dedication to housing the low-income seniors and families of the commonwealth.”
During his four years co-chairing the Housing Committee with Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Brighton), Eldridge worked to pass the Supportive Housing Law, legislation to allow domestic violence victims to leave their homes without financial penalty, in addition to the $1.4 billion affordable housing bond bill and comprehensive public housing authority reform.
Senator Eldridge has also championed increases in affordable housing programs in the state budget, including the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), and emergency shelter for homeless families and individuals. He has also been a leader in Massachusetts on zoning reform, to ensure that every community builds its fair share of affordable housing. Eldridge now serves as the Senate chair of the Committee on Financial Services.
