Eight years, three kids, ten residents, and one very full calendar. Meet Maribeth McTernan, program manager in one of our Newton houses, who shares what makes her house so lively, why she’s an evangelist for adult rec soccer, and how the residents have been part of her family’s life since before her first child was born.

Ben moved into his SHI home in Newton eight years ago. Jake moved into his in Brookline in November, 2025. We recently asked both families what life with SHI looks like, from the first year to nearly a decade in. Their answers have more in common than you might expect.

They say families come in all shapes and sizes, and at Specialized Housing we believe that notion to be especially true of the familial bonds that form within our homes. In a few special circumstances, our live-in staff have expanded their built-in SHI families by having children, who quickly came to be beloved and cherished members of the house.

The members of the Newton Houses Book Club have been meeting on weekend afternoons in the spacious and homey living room of one of the houses, books and guided questions in hand.

We’re excited to welcome Ibrahim Jabir to the Specialized Housing community as a new live-in staff member. In this interview, Ibrahim shares what drew him to Specialized Housing, what a typical day in the house looks like, and what inspires him most about supporting residents in their daily lives. From building meaningful connections to sharing his love of soccer, get to know Ibrahim and the energy he brings to our homes.

Do you like to cook? It seems like such a simple question. Yet it’s one with nuanced answers—and for our housing community, it’s one of the most important questions we ask applicants during the interview process. Cooking and food are essential ingredients to our success as a community (pun intended).

We were visiting one of our Brookline houses recently when one house member, Mike Natale, shared that he had won an award for his poetry at his job, Gateway Arts. 

It probably comes as no surprise that Sarra, a program manager in Maine, is the winner of the coveted Gold Bond Hand Cream Award yet again!