Last updated July 31, 2020
Good news! Earlier today, Governor Baker signed into law most of the COVID-19 supplemental budget, House Bill 4808. All of the homelessness and housing funds were retained. This means at least $20 million for additional RAFT homelessness prevention resources for families and individuals impacted by COVID-19 (with those households eligible for up to $10,000 in benefits, above the current $4,000 cap set for other households)*, at least $1 million more for housing and services for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, at least $9.25 million specifically for shelters serving unaccompanied adults, at least $13.5 million for local housing authorities, and at least $2.5 million in additional funds for both family and individual shelters — among other relevant investments! See the investments here: House Bill 4808 and the signing letter below.
* We have been advocating to raise the cap for Traditional and COVID-19 RAFT Response to $10,000 per household, and the cap for Upstream RAFT to match four months of back rent (which could exceed both the $4,000 existing general RAFT cap or the new $10,000 cap for COVID-19 RAFT Response.) We will continue to advocate on the raising the cap for Traditional and Upstream RAFT.
