Taking action
When St. Joseph’s Shelter in Hyannis, Mass., needed to relocate to a new space to better serve the unhoused community on Cape Cod, six students in Boston College’s Urban Action Lab used theological doctrine and a Massachusetts state law to push the process forward.
Since 2016, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fall River has operated the emergency overnight shelter, which has been owned by the nonprofit Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) since 1984 and is a vital resource in Cape Cod’s housing crisis. As the crisis has intensified, HAC and the Diocese of Fall River identified the need for a larger and more accessible facility for a growing and aging unhoused population. Another property in Hyannis, also owned by HAC, offered an ideal site for the shelter to move to, but the relocation faced local resistance.
That’s where the Urban Action Lab came in.
Offered through the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action—housed in the Carroll School of Management—the Urban Action Lab is a course based in experiential learning where students partner with local governments and organizations to take on real challenges in Massachusetts communities, according to Neil McCullagh, the center’s executive director. McCullagh selected the St. Joseph’s relocation for the spring 2025 Urban Action Lab after connecting with HAC’s chief legal officer Rob Brennan ’93, J.D. ’96.
McCullagh and Brennan believed that because St. Joseph’s is operated by Catholic Charities and represents the lived expression of Catholic doctrine through organized ministry to the unhoused, the relocation should be possible through the Dover Amendment, a Massachusetts law exempting religious and educational uses of land from certain zoning regulations.
The BC Urban Action Lab—led by executive director Neil McCullagh (second from right)— worked with Housing Assistance Corporation official and BC alumnus Rob Brennan (center) on a project in Hyannis, Mass.
Urban Action Lab students dove in, creating a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy and an argument in favor of the shelter’s relocation rooted in Catholic teachings that maintain providing shelter is a moral obligation. Their nearly 70-page report gave HAC and Catholic Charities a strong legal and strategic foundation to advocate for the relocation, said Brennan.
Brennan, who collaborated with the students to help them understand the Dover Amendment, described their work as among the best he’s seen.
“As a former Eagle who spent 11 years of my life [he also attended Boston College High School] immersed in Jesuit education, it was moving to me to see that social justice is alive in these students, and at such a high level. The way they approached this work was so impressive.”
The students’ efforts were more than an academic exercise, said McCullagh, who added that the group gelled as a team to contribute meaningfully to a legal and community struggle on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people on Cape Cod.
“Watching their work become part of an active legal record is a reminder of why experiential learning matters and how powerfully Boston College’s Jesuit mission resonates with students when it’s made tangible.”
Maeve Coffelt ’28, one of the students in the lab, said she appreciated knowing that her work was making a difference. Originally drawn to the lab because of her interest in affordable housing and community development, Coffelt assessed community concerns and developed communication recommendations for HAC and Catholic Charities to build trust and support. One way in which she gathered insight was by immersing herself in Cape Cod Facebook groups.
“I tried to identify patterns within posts and then organized community comments into a web. I’d say, ‘Okay, here’s a long post. But sifting through it, what’s the actual concern?’ It was great practice for taking in a large amount of information and identifying what’s useful, and for challenging my mindset by listening to both sides of an argument.
“I learned how housing is tied to human dignity. I enjoyed the nature of the work in this project, but it also introduced me to why housing, medical services, and basic needs are so important.”
The Urban Action Lab course is offered through the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action, housed in the Carroll School of Management. (Caitlin Cunningham)
Luke Toland ’27, another participant, remembers hearing about a Cape-area nursing home that shut down because its employees couldn’t afford to live in the area. He said the relocation project helped him understand the reality and nuances of building affordable housing.
“It’s easy to learn about affordable housing in a classroom,” said Toland. “I used to think it was simple: build more. Working with HAC and Catholic Charities showed me the red tape that gets in the way.”
As part of the project, Toland, Coffelt, and their classmates visited St. Joseph’s. Toland found it a revelation: “Seeing the shelter and meeting the people who ran it was one of my favorite parts. They go out and walk the walk and help people every day. That makes everything more real.”
In April, the Barnstable Building Commissioner affirmed that the shelter benefits from the protections of the Dover Amendment. The support from the Urban Action Lab students was a significant factor in the positive outcome, according to Susan Mazzarella, CEO of Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Fall River.
“The relocation represents a visible effort in serving the unhoused with safety and effectiveness and shows that the call to serve and advocate is alive and robust in the college generation. The new shelter location offers an environment where basic needs are met, and where dignity and worth are tangible.”
The relocation efforts for St. Joseph’s are ongoing: An appeal was recently filed to the Barnstable Zoning Board. But Brennan says that the work the Urban Action Lab did will continue to shape legal proceedings going forward.
“The students’ work was central to the building commissioner’s affirmative Dover Amendment finding. We will further amplify the case so well made in the Urban Action Lab’s report—that sheltering the homeless is a corporal work of mercy rooted in the Gospel of Matthew and a fundamental precept of the Catholic faith.”
For more about the Urban Action Lab, visit the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action website.