SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – There are 728 families in Massachusetts who are on the emergency housing waitlist, according to the state’s biweekly report.
The shelter crisis continues in the Commonwealth as the only right-to-shelter state in the country and that law only applies to families. Much has been made about the influx of migrant families and the cap put on the shelter system limiting access to emergency shelters. However, adults without children are not protected under the right to shelter.
Emergency Covid-relief funds these Springfield school projects Although the current cap of families allowed in shelters is 7,500, emergency housing rates have been at record highs due to the influx of migrants arriving in Massachusetts. The length of stay will be limited to nine months, starting in June. But it will allow two 90-day extensions for those who are eligible, including pregnant people, people diagnosed with a disability or medical condition, and those at risk of harm from domestic violence.
To date, $745 million has been spent on assistance in the 2024 Fiscal Year which includes the following:
- Shelter and associated services
- National Guard activation
- Clinical and Safety Risk
- Assessment Sites
- Temporary Emergency Shelters
- Family Welcome Centers
- Municipal payments
- Overflow spending
Number of families in Massachusetts emergency shelters:
As of July 11th, 7,343 families are in the emergency housing assistance program, 3,751 of that number entered Massachusetts as migrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. In western Massachusetts, around 772 families are being housed in emergency shelters.
334 families on the waitlist are at overflow sites in Cambridge, Chelsea, Lexington, or Norfolk. According to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, 128 families have left the emergency assistance program.
- Acton 28
- Amherst 3
- Andover 25
- Attleboro 14
- Auburn 84
- Ayer 51
- Barnstable 36
- Beverly 24
- Boston 1,315
- Bourne 47
- Braintree 2
- Bridgewater 4
- Brockton 168
- Brookline 31
- Burlington 32
- Cambridge 33
- Chelmsford 3
- Chelsea 19
- Chicopee 116
- Concord 97
- Danvers 181
- Dedham 172
- Devens 10
- Everett 102
- Fall River 95
- Falmouth 10
- Fitchburg 9
- Foxborough 88
- Framingham 191
- Franklin 90
- Gardner 40
- Gloucester 7
- Greenfield 59
- Hanson 1
- Haverhill 79
- Holyoke 173
- Hudson 49
- Kingston 100
- Lawrence 57
- Leicester 38
- Lexington 26
- Lowell 350
- Ludlow 1
- Lynn 287
- Malden 63
- Marlborough 155
- Marshfield 20
- Medford 43
- Medway 12
- Melrose 1
- Methuen 74
- Middleborough 11
- Milford 79
- Milton 2
- New Bedford 29
- North Attleboro 1
- Northampton 22
- Northborough 40
- Norton 24
- Norwell 13
- Norwood 87
- Peabody 241
- Pittsfield 16
- Plainville 51
- Plymouth 37
- Raynham 84
- Revere 28
- Rockland 52
- Salem 79
- Saugus 70
- Sharon 59
- Shrewsbury 80
- South Hadley 8
- Southbridge 1
- Springfield 288
- Stoneham 1
- Stoughton 236
- Taunton 185
- Tewksbury 30
- Wakefield 2
- Waltham 53
- Watertown 41
- West Springfield 86
- Westborough 78
- Westminster 31
- Weymouth 6
- Woburn 111
- Worcester 366
Local News
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