Healey Declares State Of Emergency Over Strained Family Shelter System

BOSTON, MA — Gov. Maura Healy on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in an attempt to address a state family shelter system that is so over-capacity, thousands of migrant and homeless families have been placed in hotel rooms across the state due to a shortage of shelter beds and affordable housing units.

Healey's plans for a state of emergency have been in the works in recent days. Human services workers from nonprofits across the state met over the weekend with top state leaders — including housing Secretary Ed Augustus, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — to work on a plan to address the crisis and talk about what the federal government could do.

In remarks at a news conference Tuesday morning, Healey said the state of emergency could mean help from federal officials, including loosening federal work rules and the ability to call the National Guard to assist.

"State employees and our partners have been miracle workers throughout this crisis — going above and beyond to support families and using every tool at their disposal to expand shelter capacity by nearly 80 percent in the last year. But in recent months, demand has increased to levels that our emergency shelter system cannot keep up with, especially as the number of families leaving shelter has dwindled due to a lack of affordable housing options and barriers to securing work," Healey said Tuesday.

As of Monday, state Division of Housing Stabilization data said just under 1,400 families were being sheltered in hotels and motels across the state, with the state projecting that number could grow to 2,800 by the end of August. There are an estimated 5,555 families — a total of 20,000 individuals — in the entire state shelter system, including hotels.

Massachusetts is the only state in the U.S. with a law requiring the state to shelter families, which includes pregnant women and couples with one or more children. With regular shelter beds in short supply, the state has been placing families in hotels, sometimes to the surprise of local cities and towns — as seen recently in Framingham, Marlborough and Shrewsbury.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Marlborough, said Healey's declaration is a step in the right direction, but state officials have room to improve when it comes to coordinating the response with locals.

On Friday, Eldridge and state Rep. Kate Donaghue, D-Westborough, went to a Southborough hotel after 22 migrants from Haiti were placed there by the state. The migrants arrived on Thursday, but town officials weren't notified until Friday, he said. The town was able to mount a response, bringing donations of food and healthcare supplies to the families, Eldridge said.

"That communication does need to improve, and we need to better connect with municipal governments and local stakeholders to provide local support," he said.

An estimated 410 families have been placed in hotels unmoored from any kind of service provider, according to state estimates. That means they sometimes land in hotels without food or even basics, like menstrual products.

At the meeting Sunday, Driscoll told nonprofit workers the situation is "unprecedented." The state has seen a particular uptick in migrants arriving from Haiti, a nation that has seen great turmoil in recent years following an earthquake and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Maydee Morales, the leader of the Worcester Community Action Council's Resiliency Center, has been working with homeless and migrant arrivals in the area. She said the state could do more when placing people in hotels, suggesting that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency coordinate a statewide response to the crisis to ensure people's needs are met.

Morales also sits on the Worcester Haitian Task Force, which helps coordinate arrivals from that country, setting them up with local school officials and public health resources. But not every community has access to such a coordinated response, she said.

Morales hoped Healey's state of emergency could get federal officials moving faster on work authorizations for migrants.

"People want to work, but they don't have permissions," she said.

Healey wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for help with work authorizations, with the governor saying the lack of authorization is "a primary driver of the crisis."

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and City Manager Eric Batista issued a joint statement Tuesday supporting Healey's declaration and asking for help from all corners of the community to address the crisis.

"It is a time for landlords, business owners, service providers, healthcare workers, hotel staff, and residents to be ready to aid individuals seeking shelter, resources, and job opportunities," their statement said. "We are extremely grateful for the many agencies and community members already involved in this work and recognize that they are currently at — or over — capacity while still doing everything in their power to help those in need.

Eldridge said the state's high cost of housing is also a major factor, for both new arrivals and homeless people trying to find permanent housing. He pointed to empty military housing at Fort Devens in his district as an example of a place where the state could start adding new units. He has seen no formal plan from the administration on solving the affordability crisis, he said.

"We're now into August, what is the plan for housing production, for affordable housing production?" he said.

Prior to Tuesday's declaration, Healey's administration has taken other steps to address the shelter crisis, including opening 50 beds at Joint Base Cape Cod, two new welcome centers for migrants, and boosting funding for the shelter system.

Massachusetts was thrust into the national spotlight last year after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has filed criminal charges in San Antonio over the migrant flight, and the case was being reviewed by a local district attorney.

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and City Manager Eric Batista issued a joint statement Tuesday supporting Healey's declaration and asking for help from all corners of the community to address the crisis.

"It is a time for landlords, business owners, service providers, healthcare workers, hotel staff, and residents to be ready to aid individuals seeking shelter, resources, and job opportunities," their statement said. "We are extremely grateful for the many agencies and community members already involved in this work and recognize that they are currently at — or over — capacity while still doing everything in their power to help those in need."

Healey asked churches and nonprofits across the state to lend a hand with the shelter crisis. The state has set up a website about the shelter crisis and is accepting offers of help through the 211 hotline and the email address shelterhelp@mass.gov, both being monitored by MEMA.