Latest news with #HomeBASE
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mass. has spent over $700M this year on shelters housing locals, migrants
Gov. Maura Healey's administration has spent more than $700 million this fiscal year to house locals, families, and migrants in the state's emergency shelter system, according to publicly available data. In total, the state has spent $706.8 million on the emergency housing assistance program. Under Massachusetts's right-to-shelter law, the state is required to provide shelter if it is needed, such as if a family is homeless or if someone is pregnant. This applies to all Massachusetts residents, whether they are locals or migrants. The state spent $537 million on direct shelter payments, according to the data, which was updated on April 17. This is the highest amount of spending as part of the $706.8 million. The second highest amount of spending this year was for HomeBASE at $77 million. HomeBASE is a program designed to help those in shelters seek stable housing. The total shelter spending is below the projected $1 billion in costs the administration anticipated for the 2025 budget year. It is also lower than the total amount of money spent on the emergency housing assistance program in the 2024 budget year, which came in at $894 million, according to the data. What is not included in the data is how much spending will be projected for the 2026 budget year. Democrats in the state House have proposed putting $275 million into the system in their fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, according to the Boston Globe. The total number of families in shelters, hotels or motels as of April 17 is 4,935, according to the report. The Healey administration announced on April 16 that the number of people in shelters dropped below 5,000 for the first time since July 2023. 'We inherited an Emergency Shelter System that was on an unsustainable path,' said Healey. 'We've taken decisive action to reduce the number of families in shelter and lower the cost of the system – and we're getting results. Caseload is now down by 33 percent from its peak, and we have already reduced the use of costly hotels by more than half.' In March, the Healey administration announced it had set a cap of 5,800 families in the shelter system, down from the previous threshold of 7,500 families. Celtics injury report: Jayson Tatum ruled out for Game 2 vs. Magic Wednesday Red Sox injury news: Connor Wong nearing rehab assignment, could return soon 'We need to protect our babies:' Lowell locals heartbroken over missing 4-year-old Harvard's president to talk stakes of Trump admin's demands in new NBC interview PWHL announces first expansion city, second to be determined Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Families in emergency shelters need long-term solutions
I went on to overcome homelessness, but I can't not forget the harm imposed by his choices, which each day left me in fear of whether I would have a roof over my head. For the thousands of homeless families that remained in flux, I hoped that a new governor would work to strengthen the state's shelter program. But with Governor Maura Healey, the emergency shelter program continues to be at risk. Countless families today depend on the Emergency Assistance shelter program to survive. This crucial program is a lifeline for families on the brink of or experiencing homelessness, giving them help before the cycle of poverty takes hold. Over the past year, however, the program has been pushed to capacity, the result of a growing in Massachusetts amid a housing crisis that has also pushed residents into state-funded shelters. Yet instead of focusing on addressing family homelessness, policy makers have begun Some have proposed rescinding the 'right-to-shelter' law, which guarantees homeless families access to emergency shelter. Healey has Advertisement Families with children, irrespective of citizenship, have been forced to These families need real solutions that prevent or interrupt homelessness, rather than arbitrary limits on their ability to access resources. For example, HomeBASE is a often spend more weeks in shelter than necessary because of bureaucratic Advertisement In light of the housing affordability crisis, policy makers need to better utilize vacant subsidized housing. such housing because they are unable to meet stringent eligibility requirements. Further, policy makers must invest more in eviction prevention resources, like the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition The solution to the surge in family homelessness does not lie in removing one of the few safety nets available to homeless families. It necessitates Furthermore, the root of this shelter crisis is the shortage of affordable housing in the state. Instead of destroying the family shelter system, our policy makers must protect it — and then expand their efforts beyond it — to end family homelessness once and for all. For all its flaws, the family shelter system provided my family with a roof when we needed it the most. It gave me the space to build a better future for myself, even under the worst circumstances, that led to my becoming a housing attorney. The thousands of homeless children in the Commonwealth deserve that same chance. Advertisement Timothy Scalona is a staff attorney in the Housing Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services and a board member at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
