Despite ahead-of-schedule closing of hotel shelters, Healey admin still says emergency shelter system can't meet demand

Boston Globe

4 days ago

Healey's housing secretary, Ed Augustus, wrote in
The extended declaration lasts until Nov. 9, and proclaims that because of the strain on the program, the shelter system must keep operating under a number of restrictions the administration began to put in place in the deepest throes of the emergency. The declaration, which is required under rules set out by the Legislature in a 2023 spending bill, can be extended again if Augustus determines it necessary.
Amid that bureaucratic change, Healey's office said her emergency declaration from August 2023 still stands.
The number of families in emergency shelter has fallen to
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Meanwhile, the ongoing state of emergency means the administration, which has issued at least four contracts
In a statement, a spokesperson for Healey said the governor imposed reforms that 'successfully reduced caseloads and costs,' and that 'it is essential that we continue these reforms so that the system does not experience another unsustainable surge and to protect taxpayer dollars.'
'Governor Healey inherited a shelter system that was not equipped to handle the surge in demand Massachusetts experienced these past few years,' the spokesperson, Karissa Hand, said.
She said Healey's administration is actively evaluating 'whether the Governor's emergency declaration should remain in place.'
Massachusetts experienced a rush of immigrants into the state beginning in the
Since Healey took office in January 2023, officials drastically expanded the state's emergency shelter system to house thousands of homeless and migrant families
For decades, homeless families have been guaranteed a roof over their heads under
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As costs mounted over the last
two years, Healey and legislators repeatedly added new requirements to dial back eligibility, including requiring homeless families to prove lawful immigration status, show they have lived in Massachusetts for at least six months, and undergo
In 2023 Augustus, the housing secretary,
The state's most recent data show fewer than 3,500 families in the system currently — half of the number there were at the emergency's peak.
Mary Connaughton, chief operating officer for the Boston-based think tank Pioneer Institute, said 'calling this ongoing crisis an emergency is not only puzzling, it's costly.'
Connaughton said the emergency declaration remaining in place has given cover for the administration to abide by 'weak internal rules,' and pointed out, as an example, a
Healey officials and shelter operators rejected conclusions that her office broke the law in using no-bid contracts, and criticized the audit.
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'As we have seen, the emergency label has become license for weak internal procedures and faulty procurements,' she said.
Healey, who is running for re-election in 2026, has drawn criticism of her handling of the shelter system by her GOP opponents.
Mike Kennealy, a housing and economic development secretary under Baker, said the crisis 'has become a never-ending emergency' and that the latest extension 'only proves it's not going away.'
He said as governor, he would create a 'loophole-free' residency requirement for the emergency shelter system.
'More than two years in, we're still in this situation because the state government lacked either the will or the ability to address the root cause from the start,' Kennealy said. 'Now, it's spiraled out of control.'
Former MBTA executive Brian Shortsleeve, who is also running in the GOP primary, said Healey 'wants to use the crisis she created to continue to exercise extraordinary power with little transparency or oversight.'
'The real state of emergency is Maura Healey's out of control spending that is breaking the backs of taxpayers who are fed up with paying for billions in migrant benefits with no accountability,' he said. 'Beacon Hill needs a total overhaul, and that starts with firing the Housing Secretary followed by firing Maura Healey.'
Some advocates say the current state of emergency and the related cap at 4,000 families also puts undue pressure on homeless families. Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said the current limits on the shelter system have created a cycle where people are leaving and re-entering the system instead of finding permanent housing they can afford.
'When the state of emergency was first declared, we weren't sure what powers it would give the state,' Turley said. 'Families are being timed out of shelter before they are able to secure long-term housing. The landscape has changed since August 2023 since the state of emergency was first declared.'
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Matt Stout of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at