MA Will Stop Adding Family Shelter Beds By November: Gov. Healey

MASSACHUSETTS — The state's migrant and homeless shelter crisis has reached a tipping point, with the state set to stop adding new shelter units at the end of October, Gov. Maura Healey said Monday.

It's unclear what will happen when the state stops increasing the number of available shelter units, but the Healey administration said Monday it will focus on moving shelter residents into permanent housing, boost job training and provide new oversight over the system.

The Massachusetts right-to-shelter law — the only one in the U.S. apart from New York City — requires the state to house families. But an influx of migrants and a steadily increasing homeless population has pushed the shelter system into record-breaking territory.

As of Monday, there were 7,500 families with about 24,000 individuals in the system compared to about 3,400 families in October 2022. The state spends an estimated $7,500 to shelter each family, with $325 million in the current state budget for the family shelter system.

"Beginning Nov. 1, the state will no longer be able to add new shelter units. At this time, families seeking shelter will be assessed and those with high needs, such as health and safety risks, will be prioritized for placement. Families who are not immediately connected with shelter will be placed on a waiting list," Healey's office said in a news release Monday.

The state in recent months has been renting blocks of rooms in hotels across the state, a method that has shocked some local leaders who receive little notice about sometimes dozens of new residents — including schoolchildren.

Healey called up the Massachusetts National Guard in August to help staff and oversee logistics at shelters, including hotel sites. On Monday, she elevated National Guard Lt. Gen. Leon Scott Rice to become the state's new Emergency Assistance Director with the mission of overseeing the family shelter system.

The Healey administration said the state will prioritize moving families out of shelters and into "stable housing." Massachusetts is also in the midst of an affordable housing shortage, with many renters in the state already overburdened by high housing costs, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

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The state will expand resources for new renters, particularly the HomeBASE program that covers costs related to rental down payments and moving, the Healey administration said.

Healey also said the state will step up efforts to connect shelter residents with jobs, if they are able. Many refugees arriving in Massachusetts do not have permission to work, and federal officials have not signaled if they will act on the issue.

Healey, who declared a state of emergency earlier this year over the migrant influx, wrote Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that work permits represent “an opportunity to meet employer needs, support our economy, and reduce dependency among new arrivals.” And 19 Democratic state attorneys general wrote Mayorkas that work permits would reduce the strain on government to provide social services.

The Biden administration took one step toward granting that demand in September, extending a temporary legal status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. that will make it easier for them to get work permits. It would take an act of Congress to shorten a mandatory, six-month waiting period for work permits for asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally.

The state's family shelter crisis has caused political backlash, with a group of white nationalists traveling to hotels across the state — and Healey's own home — to shout down migrants. The crisis may also be impacting the state's tourism industry, with spectators hoping to attend the December Army-Navy football game turned away from hotels near Gillette Stadium.

Although Healey plans to stop adding shelter units, she said during a news conference Monday that the state is not moving toward repealing the right-to-shelter law.

"We will continue to help families exit shelter and move into more permanent housing options, connect those who are eligible with work opportunities to support their families, and advocate for the federal government to step up and address this federal problem," Healey said Monday.

The Associated Press Contributed to this report