Mass. Governor: All shelters are closed, state of emergency for shelter system is over
'We're saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and putting families on a path to self-sustainability,' she said.
In addition to the closure of hotel shelters, shelters located at the former Bay State Correctional Center and the Chelsea Rapid Shelter site have also closed.
Three families were using the hotel shelter system, a
Massachusetts experienced a surge of immigrants arriving here
beginning in the
At the same time, the
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After Healey took office in January 2023, officials drastically expanded the emergency shelter system to house thousands of homeless and migrant families
For decades, homeless families have been guaranteed a roof over their heads under
to help families at hotels access medical care, find transportation, and enroll their children in school.
With costs skyrocketing, Healey and legislators repeatedly sought to tighten eligibility, including by requiring homeless families to prove lawful immigration status, show they have lived in Massachusetts for at least six months, and undergo
The number of families in emergency shelter has fallen to
Just last month, however, state officials had
the cap set by the Legislature, the state still was not able to keep up with the demand. Healey officials say they issued the declaration specifically so they can continue to impose restrictions on shelters, such as limiting who gets priority for beds and how long they can stay.
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Massachusetts Housing Secretary Ed Augustus wrote in
The extended declaration is supposed to last until Nov. 9, which is required under rules set out by the Legislature in a 2023 spending bill. It can be extended again if Augustus determines it's necessary.
Former MBTA executive Brian Shortsleeve, who is running in the GOP primary for governor, criticized Healey's comments Friday. He slammed the use of public dollars to fund the state's HomeBase program, which provides rental assistance for families transitioning into permanent housing and is credited with helping reduce the emergency shelter population.
Shortsleeve said Healey's claim of saving taxpayer dollars has 'got to go done [sic] in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest lie ever told by a politician,'
'As the next governor, I will stop the flow of our tax dollars to the migrants,' he said.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at
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