The Home For Little Wanderers, Inc.

The Home For Little Wanderers, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient (14% of recent awards) and substantially more often as a sub-recipient (86% of awards) under state and local pass-through grantees, primarily for youth homelessness prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and child nutrition services. The organization does not hold federal contracts and does not compete under set-asides; its federal footprint is purely grant-based.

The Home For Little Wanderers delivers specialized clinical care and supportive services centered on vulnerable youth, LGBTQIA+ populations, and families experiencing homelessness or behavioral health crises. As a prime grant recipient, the organization has secured funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care (CoC) Program (CFDA 14.267) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Recent prime awards include a $188,862 HUD CoC project grant (awarded October 1, 2025, completion September 30, 2026) for youth homelessness prevention and intervention services in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and a $258,900 HUD CoC grant (January 1 through December 31, 2025) supporting permanent housing, transitional housing, and supportive services for homeless individuals and families. The organization also received SAMHSA funding for its Out at Home Family Support Program, a specialized clinical service offering psychotherapy, medication management, substance use treatment, case management, and intimate partner violence counseling to LGBTQIA+ youth and families; that award (September 30, 2023 through September 29, 2026) supports evidence-based trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.

In its sub-recipient role, The Home For Little Wanderers engages pass-through grantees including the City of Boston, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New York State Education Department, and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Sub-awards span child nutrition programs (school lunch and food service for children in low-income afterschool and emergency shelter settings), substance use disorder services, residential treatment for children's behavioral health, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and multiple Continuum of Care youth homelessness initiatives including Transitional Housing-Rapid Rehousing projects and the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP).

Customer concentration reflects the organization's mission-driven focus on youth and family services. HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development leads in prime awards (11 awards), followed by SAMHSA (7 awards), while the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service dominates sub-award volume (14 awards) through state pass-throughs for child nutrition programs. Across all customer agencies, 88% of recent awards cluster with these four federal sources. The organization has grown grant activity from one award in 2020 to fourteen in 2024 and twelve in 2025, with only two awards (combined potential value not specified in source) facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The organization operates entirely within Massachusetts and neighboring states (New York, New Hampshire), with administrative headquarters in Boston and service delivery concentrated in Roxbury and surrounding communities.