Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Shelter Program

How did We Get Here?

Summary:

Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a Right to Shelter Law
In November 2022, Governor Baker warned that Massachusetts needed to dramatically increase its shelter capacity to handle an influx of migrants (S3)
In fiscal year 2023 the state spent approximately $299 Million dollars on emergency shelter. For fiscal year 2025, the estimated shelter cost is $1 Billion dollars
Governor Healey declared a state of emergency in 2023 and has capped the shelter system at 7,500 families or approximately 25,000 people. She has stated that about half of the families in shelters are migrants.
Governor Healey has made several changes to the system in the past year to limit the length of stay and change the temporary overnight shelters, now called temporary respite centers.
Those in temporary respite centers will have to wait six months to enter the Emergency Shelter Program. They are still eligible for the Reticketing program and the HomeBase programs. Reticketing means the state will book, arrange, and pay for bus or airline tickets to another state.(S4) The HomeBase program provides families who are eligible for Emergency Assistance Family Shelter with up to $30 thousand dollars over a two year period. (S5)

During the past few years thousands of people have come across the U.S. border and made their way into Massachusetts. Some have used the Customs and Border Patrol One Mobile App, a smartphone app that allows a foreign person to apply for an appointment at an official border crossing. There are approximately 1,450 appointments per day.

Some have walked across the border after paying criminal cartels thousands to dollars and waited for Customs and Border Patrol. Some have arrived in other ways. However they have come, thousands of people have arrived in Massachusetts and requested shelter. Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a Right to Shelter Law. (L1)

As of Thursday September 12, 2024, there were 7,250 families (over 24,000 people) enrolled in the shelter system with thirty-one families newly enrolled in the past 24 hours. Governor Healey has stated that about half of the families are not Massachusetts citizens. Currently, there are about 3,520 families in a hotel / motel compared to just 10 in 2021. The rest are in traditional shelters. (S1) and (S2).

On August 8, 2023 Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency due to the rapid rise in the number of people arriving in Massachusetts and asking for shelter. At that time, there were approximately 5,600 families or over 20,000 individuals in the state shelter system. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll stated “Our Emergency Assistance system is designed to be a temporary, emergency safety-net program. It is not equipped to handle the demand that we have seen in recent months. While we have made herculean efforts to expand capacity as much as possible, we’ve reached a point where the expansion is unsustainable,” (P1) A few weeks later on

August 31st, Governor Healey activated the National Guard to provide services at shelters that do not have a contracted service provider. (P2)

Less than three months later on October 16, 2023 Governor Healey declared that the state would not be able to accommodate more than 7,500 families and that the state would likely hit this number by the end of October. She stated that beginning November 1st the state would not be able to add any more shelter units and that families in need would be placed on a waiting list. (P3)

In June 2024 a letter was sent by the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security. In this letter, the delegation requested $34.5 million in Shelter and Services funding and stated that “it hardly makes a dent in the over $900 million that the Commonwealth expects to spend on shelter in the upcoming fiscal year.” The letter noted that Massachusetts is the only state with a right to shelter law and that there were nearly 800 families on a waiting list. (L1)

On July 23, 2024, the Healey administration announced changes to the emergency shelter system beginning August 1st. These changes clarified the prioritization for obtaining a spot in the shelter system. Families that are not prioritized for the shelter system would be eligible to stay in a temporary respite center for up to five business days with possible extensions. People that stay in the respite centers would not be eligible for the emergency assistance program for six months. It was also announced that the Governor had ended the practice of allowing people to sleep on the floor of Logan Airport at night while they wait for shelter. After the five day period, people are eligible to move to another state using the state’s Reticketing Program or receive subsidized housing through the HomeBASEprogram.(P4) (6)

Prior to the announcement in July, the Governor sent a delegation to the border to speak with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and families to discourage them from coming to Massachusetts for shelter. NGO’s are non-profit groups separate from the government which typically work on advocacy or social service issues such as homelessness. (P4)

The costs to taxpayers have grown exponentially. In fiscal year 2023 the state spent $299 million on shelter. The estimated cost for the current fiscal year (FY2025) is approximately $1 Billion dollars. The budget signed into law in August 2024 approved $325 million in spending on shelter with an additional $175 million coming from one-time unused funds from the pandemic. It is estimated that the shelter system will run out of money by January 1, 2025. Neither the Governor nor the Massachusetts Legislature has clarified whether the estimated $500 million dollar shortfall will come from cuts to other Massachusetts state services or to reductions in the shelter services program.(1) and (2)

In addition to the cost of the shelter system, Massachusetts taxpayers provide $105 per day per student enrolled in a public school and one time grants to municipalities to help cover one-time costs such as laptops. The state is also trying to reimburse municipalities for excise taxes that would have been collected if their hotels/motels were not being used as shelters. (3) It is not clear how much individual local municipalities are spending in addition to these costs.

With the changes to the temporary respite system and people not being allowed to sleep at Logan Airport any longer, dozens of adults and children have recently slept outside at the Wollaston and the JFK/UMASS and MBTA stations.(7)

In September 2023 State Representative Peter Durant (now State Senator Durant) filed HD.4561 to change the eligibility rules for state shelter. The bill would change the shelter law to state that emergency housing assistance shall be available to Massachusetts residents who are citizens of the United States.(4) This bill was not taken up in the last session.

A special legislative commission has been tasked with issuing a report with recommendations for the shelter system. The report is due to Governor Healey on December 1st. (2)

Will the Massachusetts Legislature change the Right to Shelter Law? If not, how will Massachusetts taxpayers continue to pay the increasing costs? How will the legislature fund the costs for the rest of this fiscal year and beyond? Will other state services be cut? These are important questions that need to be answered by Governor Healey, State Representative Jim Arciero and State Senator John Cronin.

(L1) From MA Congressional delegation’s letter to Secretary Mayorkas dated June 13, 2024

Click to access 2024.06.13_ssp-c_request_letter.pdf

(S1) From the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Placement Data

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/emergency-assistance-ea-family-shelter-resources-and-data

(S2) From WWLP.com

https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/family-shelter-placements-more-than-doubled-under-healey/

(S3) From Masslive.com

https://www.masslive.com/politics/2022/11/gov-baker-calls-mass-migrant-housing-capacity-a-very-significant-problem.html

(S4) Mass.gov

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/re-ticketing-part-of-emergency-assistance-ea-family-shelter#:~:text=The%20Re%2Dticketing%20Program%20may,or%20other%20related%20travel%20expenses.

(S5) Mass.gov

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/homebase#who-is-eligible-for-homebase?-