MA 'Right-To-Shelter' Lawsuit Filed Over Healey's Cap On New Beds

BOSTON, MA — The Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the state to stop a reduction in services under the right-to-shelter law that could begin this week.

In mid-October, Gov. Maura Healey said the state's emergency shelter system would stop adding new shelter beds by Nov. 1 amid a historic influx of homeless and migrant families. Lawyers for Civil Rights is asking a judge to prevent the state from doing that, arguing the governor needs to give the Legislature at least 90 days to amend the right-to-shelter law.

"The law requires the state to proceed in an orderly manner, to hear from the public, and to give the Legislature a chance to weigh in on — and potentially forestall — these Draconian changes," Lawyers for Civil Rights Litigation Director Oren Sellstrom said in a news release.

Massachusetts is the only state in the U.S. with a right-to-shelter law requiring the state to house families. An influx of migrants and a rising homeless population has pushed the shelter system into record-breaking territory. When Healey announced the November cap on Oct. 16, there were 7,500 families with about 24,000 individuals in the shelter system. Many families are being sheltered in hotels across the state.

On Monday, Emergency Assistance Director Lt. General Scott Rice said the number of families had dropped to 7,319. The state's plan to begin a waiting list won't kick in until the capacity reach 7,500.

"As families exit the shelter system, new families will enter vacated units. If there is no capacity on a given day, families will be placed on a waitlist and notified when a unit becomes available. The order of the waitlist is based on whether a family has a clinical or safety risk priority designation combined with the date they were deemed eligible," the state said in an update.

On Monday, the Healey administration said the state and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would host a legal clinic over the week of Nov. 13 to help migrants get work permits. Many migrants do not have the authorization to work in the U.S., adding another hurdle to finding housing in one of the most expensive places to rent in the nation.

The Lawyers for Civil Rights lawsuit was filed Friday in Suffolk County Superior Court against Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. An initial hearing for the lawsuit will be held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.