State finds shelter for immigrant children sleeping at Wollaston, at least for now

QUINCY ‒ The state has cleared a makeshift encampment outside the Wollaston MBTA station , where between 32 and 50 Haitian immigrants, including infants and young children, had been sleeping since Monday night, according to immigration advocates present at the scene.

At around 2:45 p.m., two representatives of Bay State Community Services, a social services nonprofit operating the state's Family Welcome Center at nearby Eastern Nazarene College, arrived at Wollaston Station and directed families into ride-hailing vehicles, according to Sam Kohler, a volunteer with the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network.

By around 5 p.m. everyone had been transported to one or more of the state's four "temporary respite centers" in Norfolk, Cambridge, Lexington and Chelsea, Kohler said. It is unclear which of the respite centers received the Wollaston migrants.

A spokesperson from Gov. Maura Healey's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the families' relocation.

Later in the evening, after the other families were relocated, a family of five with three daughters ages 11 and under returned to Wollaston Station. It was not clear why the family did not access the same temporary shelter as the other families, and the parents declined to answer questions through a translator.

At just before 9 p.m., a woman arrived in tears holding her six-month old daughter. Speaking Spanish, she said told volunteers from the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network that she had nowhere to stay and had been turned away from the Family Welcome Center at Eastern Nazarene because she lacked paperwork proving she was the baby's mother.

Both the mother and daughter and the family of five were preparing to sleep on the ground outside the station at 9 p.m.

Earlier in the day, Healey's office emailed The Patriot Ledger the following statement:

"We encourage families to use (temporary respite centers) so that they have a safe place to stay, as well as access to intensive case management and other resources to help them identify a safe housing option outside of the shelter system. ... Since their launch, TRCs have helped dozens of families leave for alternative accommodations. Additionally, extensions are available for families who need more time after their five business days."

The respite centers, previously called overflow shelters, were set up for homeless families waiting for a place in the state's family emergency shelter system, which Healey capped at 7,500 families last fall.

On July 23, Healey limited stays at the respite centers to a maximum five days and barred guests from entering the emergency family shelter system for at least six months. Since the restriction went into effect, extensions have been granted to certain families.

Kohler said he's glad the immigrant families will have a roof over their heads tonight, but he worries what will happen to them after five days.

"We just want to know the Governor's plan," Kohler said. "We're hoping she will reinstate Massachusetts' 40-year-old right to shelter."

Kohler referred to the law passed in 1983 which provides shelter to homeless families with children and pregnant mothers. The so-called "right to shelter" law stipulates that state-provided emergency shelter for families is "subject to appropriation."

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com .

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: State finds shelter for immigrant children sleeping at Wollaston, at least for now