Rooted In Somerville is a 12-month pilot fundraising campaign led by volunteers and driven by neighbors who believe housing is a human right. We reach out directly to buyers and sellers of Somerville real estate and invite them to give back to the community that makes Somerville a vibrant place to be.
Your tax deductible donation, split evenly between Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) and Somerville Community Land Trust (SCLT), supports two organizations doing complementary work: CAAS organizes tenants, fights displacement, and connects families to the services they need. SCLT builds permanently affordable homes for working families that are community controlled and shielded from speculation. In this way, we reach vulnerable neighbors facing displacement in critical moments and support their housing stability long-term housing.
It works. When 12 Pleasant Avenue in Prospect Hill, Somerville was posted for sale on Zillow without prior notice, 6 families faced the real possibility of losing their homes. CAAS supported tenants as they organized to resist displacement which created an opportunity for SCLT to purchase the building. Together we turned a housing crisis into a success story: everyone stayed, rents were stabilized, and the building will be renovated so residents may purchase their homes at affordable prices and lay roots in Somerville. That's what your donation makes possible.
Every week, properties change hands in Somerville. For some, it's a financial transaction. For others, it means a family has to leave the city they've called home.