BOSTON — Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Tuesday announced new restrictions on the state’s shelter programs for homeless families.
From August 1, families who do not receive priority for placement in emergency shelters will only be allowed to stay in overflow locations for five days.
Healey said she was tightening the restrictions on eligibility for the emergency response system because of the system’s “ongoing capacity constraints” and the need to protect its financial sustainability — in part because of the influx of migrants into the state.
Families are given priority for placement in emergency shelters if they are left homeless by a no-fault eviction or by sudden or unusual circumstances beyond their control, such as a flood or fire. They are also given priority if at least one family member is a veteran, Healey said.
Families with serious medical needs, newborn children or at risk of domestic violence will also continue to be prioritized, she said.
Families who are not prioritized for placement in emergency shelters will be eligible to stay — for just five days — in what the government describes as “temporary shelters.” Such families are currently eligible for a 30-day stay in overflow shelters and can apply to extend their stay. Beginning August 1, families staying in temporary shelters will have to wait six months or longer for placement in the family emergency shelter system.
There are currently about 300 families in the overflow locations, Healey said.
“I’ve said for a long time that we have excess capacity here in Massachusetts, and my message to people who want to come to Massachusetts is clear: We don’t have housing, we don’t have capacity,” Healey told reporters. “I think this is the right thing to do.”
The Democrat also defended the state’s “reticketing program,” which covers travel costs for families with a safe place to stay outside the state.
“We have also offered them the alternative route that they may wish to take, which is to go to relatives or people they know elsewhere, communities elsewhere in the country, and I think that is the humane and appropriate thing to do,” she said.
Amy Carnevale, chair of the state Republican Party, said Healey is “finally implementing some of the measures we’ve been advocating for.”
Senate Democratic Leader Karen Spilka said the federal government needs to do a better job of addressing immigration issues.
“We can’t continue to do this alone,” she said. “Massachusetts has stepped up and done a fantastic job, but we need federal help.”
Earlier this year, Healey announced that families would have to recertify each month to remain in Massachusetts’ overflow shelters, including documenting their efforts to escape the system, such as by finding housing or jobs.
The change comes after the state banned homeless families from sleeping at night at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Families on the emergency waiting list who were sleeping in Logan have been offered transfers to the state’s safety net system, including a location in Norfolk that opened to up to 140 families.
Starting June 1, the state also began imposing restrictions on the amount of time homeless families can stay in shelters. nine monthsAfter that, families are eligible for up to two 90-day extensions.
The latest restrictions are a new departure from the unique 1986 law that gave homeless families the right to shelter without restrictions.
Last year, Healey state of emergency declaredwhich limits the reception capacity to 7,500 families.
Healey said her administration has focused on providing work permits to immigrants, English classes and placing immigrants in jobs so they have the resources they need to find stable housing.