By the end of Monday, the Healey administration plans to close almost all of the hotels and motels it has been employing as emergency shelters.
In May, officials declared that by the end of the summer, the state would close all of its hotel shelters. Thirty-two hotels were being used as shelters at the time. 28 were still in service at the start of June.
A representative for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said the state is closing 24 hotel shelters on Monday and will close the remaining four by July 31.
The announcement marks the end of the state’s long-standing tradition of using hotels as emergency shelters, which has been a defining feature of Governor Maura Healey’s first term. Several years ago, the state’s emergency shelter system quickly filled up due to the state’s ongoing housing affordability crisis and soaring migration. After authorities noted an 80% rise in the number of families residing in shelters compared to 2022, Healey announced a state of emergency in 2023.
Hotels were also used by earlier governments to support the emergency shelter system as it grew and shrank. According to a report released earlier this year by administration officials, the usage of hotels peaked in 2014, when the shelter system had to handle a caseload of almost 4,600 families, prior to the latest rise.
About 6,100 families were being served by the shelter system when Healey issued the state of emergency in August 2023. Soon after, authorities put a cap on the system at 7,500 families. For the most of the following year, it stayed at or near capacity, and around half of the families in the shelter system were lodging in hotels. In late 2023, up to 100 hotels were serving as shelters. To handle the growing demand, the state established overflow facilities and a queue around Massachusetts.
Only 3,740 families are presently enrolled in the shelter system, with only 275 staying in motels, according to state data made public last week.
In the midst of the recent crisis, the state spent almost $1 billion annually to fund the shelter system. Although they are the priciest lodging option in the system, hotels are not the best. It is uncommon for families residing in hotel shelters to have access to kitchens or laundry facilities. Additionally, they are occasionally far from convenient public transportation.
Families experience more stress as a result of these websites’ reduction of family privacy, autonomy, and community connectedness. According to the authors of a special report on the system published last year, hotels are neither suitable refuge nor housing.
Hundreds of major occurrences were reported at shelters, including hotels, as a result of the increased caseload. After a guy was allegedly discovered last week in a Revere hotel that was serving as a refuge with pounds of fentanyl and a loaded AR-15 weapon, Healey ordered a thorough examination of the system early this year.
Prioritizing Massachusetts people, Healey collaborated with legislators to amend the state’s distinctive right-to-shelter law. Numerous rallies against Healey and her efforts to reduce the shelter system’s caseload have been organized by advocates for immigrants and the homeless.
Healey will have to deal with the political ramifications of the shelter problem when she runs for reelection the following year. The State Auditor said last month that the Healey administration unlawfully exploited no-bid contracts to obtain food and transportation services and neglected to sufficiently evaluate the growing need for shelter services. Ed Augustus, the secretary of the EOHLC, described the claims as essentially false and baseless.
The Healey administration has been depending more and more on the HomeBASE program to handle the growing workload, according to a story published in The Boston Herald last week. For low-income families who qualify for shelter stays, the state runs the HomeBASE program. It gives families money for furniture purchases, rent, and other expenses related to renting an apartment. According to the Herald, since Healey took office, the HomeBASE caseload has grown by over 500%.
The news quickly caught the attention of Healey’s political rivals.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve stated, “Maura Healey has not been honest with us about the true cost of her migrant shelter program, and that’s totally unsustainable for the state.”
Another well-known Republican who is trying to remove Healey, Mike Kennealy, claimed that the governor made a conscious effort to mislead the public as the crisis worsened.
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.
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