As new shelter stay limits take effect, advocates keep up pressure on Healey

Almost two weeks after new policies limiting the amount of time that homeless families can stay in overflow shelters were implemented, advocates are continuing to criticize Mass. Gov. Maura Healey’s administration and are planning another high-profile rally in front of the State House. 

A candlelight vigil will be held on Beacon Hill Wednesday evening to draw attention to the impacts of the new policies. The organizers say that the new rules will disproportionately harm migrant families, force children and their parents into unsafe spaces, or otherwise lead them to sleep on the streets. 

The policy changes, put in place to manage the state’s severely overburdened emergency shelter system, immediately prompted groups like the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless to gather in protest late last month. 

The changes went into effect on Aug. 1. They concern those families trying to get a spot in the shelter system. It has been at or near capacity since last fall, with officials installing a waitlist and setting up overflow shelter sites around the state.

Healey has acknowledged that the new prioritization rules favor Massachusetts residents over newly arrived migrants. Meanwhile, families not being prioritized are only able to stay at the overflow sites, now officially dubbed “temporary respite shelters,” for up to five days. 

There are four state-run overflow shelter sites throughout Massachusetts, in Chelsea, Lexington, Cambridge, and Norfolk. The state has also partnered with outside groups like United Way to help them set up additional shelters. The new limit does not apply to these sites. 

“My message to folks outside of Massachusetts is: ‘Do not come here expecting housing,’” Healey said Monday during an appearance on WBUR’s “Radio Boston.” “We have limited resources. I think we have pushed and exhausted all we can.”

Officials estimate that the state will need more than $1 billion to keep the shelter system operational through the end of fiscal 2025. There are about 7,300 families in the system at the moment, according to the most recently available data. 

Shelter limit impacts

The exact impact of the five-day overflow shelter limit is not entirely clear. Healey’s office last week confirmed that 57 families received eviction notices telling them that they needed to exit the shelters by Aug. 9.

The state is offering some families extensions, allowing them to continue staying in the overflow shelters for up to an additional month. The extensions are meant to “provide families who are on the verge of securing stable housing with the time they need to finalize it,” a Healey spokesperson told Boston.com when they were first announced. 

Spokespeople for the administration did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.  They also did not respond to a request for updated data on the number of families who have received exit notices and how many have left the overflow shelters since the new rules took effect. 

Healey said during her WBUR appearance that families being served exit notices are receiving “intensive” case management from the state to help them secure jobs and housing. She emphasized the “re-ticketing” program, which uses state dollars to cover the travel expenses of people who have housing options with friends or family outside of Massachusetts. The HomeBASE program is another key resource for families eligible for placement in the shelter system. It helps people pay for their rents, utility bills, and other housing costs. 

Advocates for homeless and migrant families say that more must be done. The Coalition for the Homeless organized a “week of action” last week to pressure Healey to reverse the new policies. 

There is concern that the emergency shelter system itself could be in jeopardy. 

“Five days is not enough time to find housing or alternative temporary options,” the Coalition for the Homeless and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute said in a recent document. “This is another step towards dismantling the EA shelter system that has been in place for over 40 years.”

Neither advocacy organization responded to requests for comment Tuesday. 

Transparency issues

Meanwhile, the Healey administration is facing questions about transparency. While the public knows how much is being spent on shelters and related services, details about the vendors working with the state and other specifics remain murky at best, according to a new report in The Boston Globe.

Administration officials told the paper that information is being kept private to ensure the safety of the families staying at the shelters. Anti-immigrant groups and overt neo-Nazis have staged protests outside shelters in places like Quincy and Lexington. 

Healey is keeping the door open for more policy changes regarding shelters in the future, but is keeping discussions about this vague. When asked on WBUR if the current policies could be rolled back in the event that more shelter space opens up, the governor only said that she has managed this “to the best of her judgment” and would continue to  “make whatever changes” may be necessary.

She also said that her administration is working with state lawmakers to explore structural changes that would benefit the shelter system.