This follows an explosive few weeks which saw:
On Monday January 6th, Governor Healey requested $425 million dollars from a reserve account with leftover pandemic funds to help sustain the shelter program through the rest of fiscal year 2025. The program is expected to run out of money by the end of January. She proposed some changes to the system including a reduction in length of time permitted. She stated that she would like to decrease the number of families in the shelter program from approximately 7,500 families to 4,000 families by June 2026 in order to ensure the sustainability of the program. She also indicated that she would like to eliminate the use of hotels and motels for the shelter program. Currently, the state spends about $10,000 per family per month. It is not clear how she would go about making these changes. Currently, the state spends about $10,000 per family per month.
The following day, the Governor ordered an inspection of all shelters including a review of the intake procedures. This was in response to growing concern about the arrest In late December of an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was found to have approximately $1 Million dollars in fentanyl, an illegal AR-15 firearm, and ammunition in a Revere hotel shelter. Upon investigation, it was found that he was not approved to be living in the shelter system which further raised questions about the security at these shelters. He was living with a woman who was approved to be at the hotel and had been there since October 15th. It is not known when or how he arrived in the United States. He was arraigned in Boston Federal Court and has retained a private attorney.
Per wwlp.com reporting on Thursday January 9th, MA Speaker of the House Ron Mariano was shocked and outraged at the details of the arrest. Per wwlp, Speaker Mariano then said, “I’m encouraged that she’s gonna go in and reexamine the requirements to get in and the entrance procedures to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Mariano said, referring to Healey’s ordering of inspections of all shelter sites and a review of intake procedures. “Obviously, the guy was an outsider who was staying with someone, brought this stuff in, and I don’tknow what else you’ve got to do. You have to start screening better at the door, and that’s what needs to be done. And I’msure that’s what they’ll end up doing.”
In a press conference on Friday January 10th, the Governor stated that she would be working with her legislative partners to look at the Right to Shelter law, regulations, and policies to see whether they align with the original intent of the law. She further announced she is commissioning former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to perform a security review of state run shelters. The report is due in thirty days and will be made public. She also stated that she has ordered that all persons in shelter sites undergo a Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check. These checks were only being done in the overflow sites, not in all of the emergency assistance shelters. She stated that she had ordered these checks to be done in the spring and was not sure why they were not being carried out. There are currently about 22,000 persons in the shelters, including children. About half are long-term Massachusetts residents.
Last week the Boston Herald reported that it has received thousands of pages of safety incidents at the emergency shelters from the state in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. These reports reveal that since 2022 there were more than a thousand serious incidents of criminal activity in the shelters including gun and drug charges, domestic violence, assault, and rape.
On Wednesday January 15th, Governor sent a letter to legislative leaders stating that she has done an evaluation of the program and asked for changes to be made. She did not send a formal bill. She suggested changes such as requiring that people show proof of eligibility rather than self-attestation and strengthening criminal background checks before people enter the shelters. Those exiting the shelter system may be eligible for the HomeBase program. The HomeBase program may provide eligible families with up to $30,000 dollars over a two yearperiod to cover the cost of rent and other expenses. Per the Commonwealth Beacon approximately 48,000 people have lived in the emergency shelters over the past three years. Republican legislators have proposed amending the Right to Shelter Law to require a demonstrated lawful presence in Massachusetts for one year before accessing the shelter program.
References:
https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/01-15_Healey_Letter.pdf
https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/01-06_Healey_Shelter_Supp.pdf
https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/healey-interested-in-revisiting-shelter-law-intent/
https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/healey-seeks-425m-to-keep-up-with-shelter-costs/
https://www.wcvb.com/article/shelter-arrest-sanchez-housing-healey-jan-7-2025/63363673
https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/screening-emerging-as-issue-in-shelter-debate/
Click the link for Additional Mass Shelter System info posted Sept 2024:
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