Haley House Selected as Root Cause Finalist

Haley House, a nonprofit organization that centers on issues such as homelessness, job stagnation for ex-convicts, and dietary conditions for low-income Bostonians, has been selected by Root Cause's Innovation Forum as one of the 28 most innovative nonprofits in the Great Boston area.

As a finalist, Haley House has the chance to receive more than $10,000 in cash and building services from Root Cause and its partners.

Haley House was chosen from over 100 applications for this honor by social experts from the business, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. They will also receive services such as consulting and executive coaching if they are chosen as a winner.

Root Cause is a research and consulting firm that works with nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and business to tackle social troubles in the Boston area. Each year, the forum partners with foundations, corporations, and donors to support these organizations with financial contributions, volunteer time, and other resources.

Founded in 1966 by Kathe and John McKenna, Haley House began as a temporary home for the needy, located in a small apartment rented by the McKenna's. They would walk down Tremont Street in Boston looking for the homeless, and invite them in for a good night's sleep and a hot meal in the morning. Forty-five years later, Haley House has become one of the top social programs in Boston. The House includes a resident house, a free meal for senior citizens, an organic farm that provides produce for poor families, and a bakery that hires ex-convicts and workers looking to recover from homelessness.

As most students know, Boston College offers cookies from this bakery at the dining halls. At a talk last year at BC, Daniel Cordon, director of wholesale transitional employment, spoke of the importance of supporting the bakery at Haley House.

"We wanted to devise a program that would create opportunities on a real life scale where we could take men, bring them in, hold them up, and give them the opportunity to transfer back into the world," Cordon said. "To be able to have the opportunity to go back in your life after jail is overwhelming. You can say that's not our problem, but your taxes are paying for it," he said. "You make a difference. By buying a pack of cookies, you make a difference."