BOSTON (WWLP) – The governor’s administration is now providing the legislature with reporting on the shelter emergency.
Governor’s new budget invests in the housing crisis
As costs continue to grow alongside the waitlist, there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight for those seeking emergency shelter. This past October, the Healey Administration announced that it would no longer be able to accommodate families seeking shelter capping the amount at 7,500 families.
What has followed is a waitlist that has only continued to grow. On January 2nd the waitlist number was at 406 families. As of last week, that number stands at 604, an increase of almost 200 families in less than one month. Only about half are new arrivals.
Many families on the waitlist are utilizing the state’s overflow sites however, there are no overflow sites located in western Massachusetts.
Andrea Park, a Housing & Homelessness Attorney for the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute believes there is a need in our part of the state for an overflow site, and she also had to say that this problem has been amplified by the lack of affordable housing in Massachusetts.