Healey officially ends state of emergency over shelter crisis

Governor Maura Healey said on Friday that she is officially lifting the state of emergency that she had imposed in August 2023 to deal with an overburdened shelter system and a surge in migration.

Additionally, Healey stated that all hotel shelters in the state are currently closed. Earlier this year, the authorities started closing hotel shelters earlier than planned, and by the end of June, the majority had been closed.

As state officials battled to handle the shelter problem, one strategy they used was the utilization of hotels. The number of families looking for a bed in the state’s emergency shelter system skyrocketed in 2023 due to an increase in immigration and the highest housing costs ever. The situation was made more difficult by the state’s special right-to-shelter law, which provided shelter for expectant mothers and families.

To maintain numbers reasonably manageable, the Healey administration increased workforce training and job placement programs, established waitlist and overflow locations throughout the state, and placed a ceiling on the number of families permitted into state shelters. The governor also spearheaded efforts to modify the right-to-shelter law to give preference to families who could demonstrate their Massachusetts residency and to limit the length of time they could remain in shelters.

A large portion of Healey’s first term has been shaped by the shelter issue. Advocates for migrants and the homeless condemned Healey’s actions after photos of migrants sleeping on the ground at Logan Airport and outside MBTA stations made news. At the same time, the shelter system’s expenses skyrocketed. Locals voiced their displeasure over the escalating expenses and the temporary usage of nearby facilities for more shelter space.

Another big worry was the security of the people residing in shelters.Drugs and firearms were discovered, rape claims were documented, and sex offenders were discovered living in the shelters. Healey claimed that although she had mandated thorough criminal history checks for every resident of the emergency shelter, these were not consistently carried out for months.

Healey has frequently urged Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform, arguing that the shelter issue is mostly the result of the nation’s flawed immigration system.

In a statement released on Friday, the Healey administration claimed that the governor’s actions were directly to blame for the decline in caseloads and expenses. Now, there are fewer families in shelters than there were when Healey became office in January 2023. Only approximately 1,500 families have entered the shelter system since the beginning of this year, compared to about 4,500 that have left. According to officials, between 85 and 90 percent of the families who are requesting shelter are now lifelong residents of Massachusetts.

Families were staying in shelters for months or even years at a time, and families were being housed in hotels throughout the state when we assumed office. To manage the spike in demand, safeguard taxpayer funds, or assist families in leaving shelter, there was no plan in place to change the shelter system. We can all agree that raising a family is not appropriate at a hotel. Healey said in a statement on Friday, “So we took action.”

We have fewer families in shelter than the day we took office because of my reforms and our efforts to help families find stable housing and employment, and all hotel shelters are now closing months ahead of schedule, she continued. We’re helping families become self-sufficient and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since 2022, Ross Cristantiello has been a general assignment news correspondent for Boston.com, covering a variety of topics including as local politics, crime, and the environment.