In 2023, amid a surge of migrants, the Massachusetts emergency shelter system hit capacity, overwhelming the commonwealth and sending costs for the program skyrocketing. Debate over how to manage the beleaguered system continues. On Thursday, the Democrat controlled Massachusetts House approved a $425 million infusion to keep it operating through the end of June, along with a slate of new restrictions on who can use the system and for how long.
“This vote was needed. I think we need to be fiscally responsible as well as compassionate," first-term Democratic State Representative Leigh Davis of the 3rd Berkshire District told WAMC. “We need some guardrails. Unfortunately, we've lost our federal partner. But really looking at it, I think we need to be sustainable and effective, and I think this strikes a good balance. Obviously, we all know the changes that came through- The maximum stay is now six months, as opposed to nine months, and now there's a shelter cap of 4,000 whereas it was 7,500 before.”
In an attempt to staunch the flow of shelter-seekers, eligibility requirements have become stricter.
“Requiring shelter applicants to disclose past criminal convictions, which we all assumed that there were checks being made and checks and balances, but now this requires them," said Davis. "Talking around the so-called presumptive eligibility, basically allowing the state to verify eligibility. So, now we want to show that they intend to stay in the state and that they have some documentation to prove that residency.”
Fellow Democrat Tricia Farley-Bouvier of the 2nd Berkshire District says her vote to support the new guidelines was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I was very concerned about the nine-month limit, and now we're moving it down to six months," she told WAMC. "And so that part was hard for me, and at the same time, I wanted to make sure the funding continued. We're committed to making sure that Massachusetts remains a right to shelter state, and at the same time, we have to put some parameters on it to make sure that families get what they need and, quite frankly, move out of shelter as quickly as possible.”
Democratic State Representative John Barrett of the 1st Berkshire District says the House bill he and his colleagues approved essentially mirrors the policies of first-term Democratic Governor Maura Healey with greater restrictions.
“It calls for accountability, more than anything else," he said. "That's a lot of money that we've spent trying to house the immigrants that did come into our state and in trying to resolve it in the best way possible, and also, at the same time, be humane in the situation. And I think that we've somewhat achieved it. But most importantly, we're getting to a goal and objective of how this program is going to move forward in the future.”
Attention now moves to the State Senate, which is expected to vote on the bill this week.
“I'll just say personally I'm not taking a vote that's going to throw kids out on the street in the middle of the winter," said Democratic State Senator Paul Mark of the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District. “We're trying to balance that with, how do we make sure that we're not giving a billion dollars a year, which the people of Massachusetts just cannot afford, inevitably, for an unrestrained amount of time? How do we make sure that we're finding ways to make the length of stay, the cost of the stay, how do we work with the administration, and they work with vendors, to get those costs down, to make sure that if a family is very temporarily in a hotel – and I heard from [Housing] Secretary Augustus that that program is coming to an end once again, that they think they found more moderate to longer term solutions – how do we how do we balance that? Though, if a family has been in a hotel in any community and they move in the middle of the school year, now the community that was hosting them is responsible for the cost of transporting the child back to the school.”
The fierce debate over the issue is apparent to Mark.
“I have people writing to me saying, just, just turn it off, just end it- And unfortunately, whether you like it or not, that's not a realistic solution," he told WAMC. "And then I have people saying don't change anything, and that also isn't a realistic solution, as the only state that offers right to shelter. So, I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks we find the right balance that is going to bring the bring the program into a more manageable, normal situation like it has been funded over the past 40 years, and get out of one of these crises that happens from times to time and has flared up a lot recently in the last two years.”
The new capacity limit of 4,000 families for the Massachusetts emergency shelter system would come into effect in 2026.
Recent estimates indicate more than 6,000 families were in the system at the beginning of 2025.
