Posted August 14, 2023; last updated August 24th
Statement in Support of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Call to Action for Families Experiencing Homelessness, Appeal for Coordinated State Action
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (MCH), Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), and the undersigned organizations support the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s efforts to expand resources for shelter, housing, and other resources for families experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts. We affirm the Administration’s commitment to preserving access to the Commonwealth’s Emergency Assistance family shelter system for all eligible families with children. We are also grateful for the broad call to action to support newly arrived immigrant families. We stand ready to share our knowledge and assistance in these efforts in the days and weeks ahead, and we offer key recommendations today.
We believe there are immediate actions available to alleviate the current crisis, uphold human dignity, and invest in long-term housing solutions that expand deeply affordable and permanent supportive housing. With the state’s leadership, together we can and must:
Help families swiftly move out of Emergency Assistance and other temporary shelter programs into permanent affordable housing
Strengthen homelessness prevention resources to ensure that more families and individuals can maintain housing stability
Expand available services for newly arrived immigrant families and improve service coordination for all families experiencing homelessness
The fiscal year 2024 state budget, signed into law on August 9th by Governor Healey, includes new tools and resources that will move us in the right direction. The budget provides record funding to keep Emergency Assistance shelters open, strengthens the HomeBASE diversion and rehousing program, provides additional long-term housing subsidies through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, includes policy changes to make housing more affordable for residents with low incomes, and reinstates Chapter 257 eviction protections to prevent unnecessary evictions for renters applying for emergency rental assistance. We call on the Administration and Legislature to take the next steps to bring these service, housing, and prevention resources to scale through supplemental appropriations, passing an Affordable Housing Bond Bill with increased investments in deeply affordable housing, and deploying federal resources, such as the remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds.
We also know that money alone is not enough to end the emergency. In addition to mobilizing communities, businesses, organizations, and individuals, we call on the state to take bold, creative, and coordinated action to intensify efforts to help families move out of shelter into housing, strengthen homelessness prevention resources, expand available services to all families experiencing homelessness, and target supports to newly arrived immigrant families. In doing so, we call on the Commonwealth to bring key stakeholders to the table and uplift the experiences and expertise of families and communities most affected by the crisis.
We offer our assistance towards achieving the shared goal of ensuring that every family has a safe, affordable, and permanent place to call home and the safety of shelter while awaiting those housing opportunities. We know we can come together for a strong Commonwealth for all.
Sincerely,
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Kelly Turley
Associate Director
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Andrea M. Park
Director of Community Driven Advocacy
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association
Rachel Heller
Chief Executive Officer
Endorsing Organizations as of August 24th (in alphabetical order):
Abby’s House
Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness
All Saints Episcopal Church, Worcester
Arise for Social Justice
Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church
Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority
Berkshire Housing
Berkshire United Way
Bourne, Cataumet, & West Falmouth United Methodist Churches
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.
Catholic Charities Worcester County
Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance
Central West Justice Center
Chicopee Public Schools
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association
Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc.
Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley
Craig’s Doors
Domus Incorporated
El Colibrí
Eliot Community Human Service
Everett Haitian Community Center (The EHCC)
Fair Haven Ministries Inc.
Falmouth Jewish Congregation
Family and Community Resources, Inc
Family Health Center of Worcester
Family Promise North Shore Boston
FamilyAid
First Church in Sandwich, United Church of Christ
First Parish, Concord
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
Grace City Church
Grace Episcopal Church, Great Barrington
Grandmothers’ Village Project
Greater Boston Legal Services
Greenfield Housing Authority
Greening Greenfield
HarborCOV
Housing Families Inc
Housing Greenfield
Housing Justice for Survivors, Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School
I.C. Solutions LLC
Immigrant Family Services Institute
Independence House Inc.
Islamic Society of Western Mass
Jane Doe Inc. (JDI), The MA Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Jewish Family Service of MetroWest
Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
LUK, Inc.
Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants
Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS)
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Massachusetts Public Health Association
Metro Housing|Boston
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
MetroWest Legal Services
Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center
My Life My Choice
NeighborWorks Housing Solutions
New Lease for Homeless Families
Northeast Justice Center
Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
One Family
Open Sky Community Services
Pine Street Inn
RCAP Solutions
REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Inc.
Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts
Rosie’s Place
Salasin Project
SEIU Local 509
Shir Hadash
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston
South Shore Resource and Advocacy Center
Spanish American Center, Inc.
St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Community
St. Mark Congregational Church, UCC
Stop Bullying Coalition
Temple Anshe Amunim
Temple Beth Am, Framingham
Temple Beth David
Temple Emmanuel of Chelsea
Temple Sinai Brookline
The Rian Immigrant Center
Tifereth Israel Congregation
UniteBoston
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
Valley Community Development
Vasquez Mary Kay
Veterans Inc.
Way Finders
Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
Women’s Money Matters
Worcester City Councilor At-Large Thu Nguyen
Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj
Worcester Community Action Council
YWCA Central Massachusetts
Zen Center North Shore
Last updated 8/24/23
* Click here for a PDF version of the statement, listing the endorsing organizations as of August 23rd.
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