For the nearly 4,500 Bostonians who experience homelessness any given night, accessible emergency shelter is critical. In Massachusetts, homeless families have been guaranteed emergency shelter since 1983. The lack of affordable housing has been a problem in MA for decades, and historically has disproportionately impacted highly marginalized communities.
But on October 16, Governor Healey declared that access to Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter would no longer be a right but contingent on state funding.
Unhoused survivors of sexual violence and their families are already facing the consequences. On November 9, the number of families in emergency shelters exceeded the new 7,500 person limit, causing unhoused families, pregnant people, and children to remain without once guaranteed shelter while they sit on a waitlist for available emergency units. Survivors applying for asylum and other newly arrived families have been hit especially hard by this change.
On November 16, State Senators and Representatives did not make a final decision on a bill that would put $250 million into the emergency shelter system. At the current rate, Massachusetts will run out of its current shelter funding by January 13.
Fifty to sixty percent of women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing a violent relationship. Further, the lack of safe, accessible, affordable housing increases the risk of victimization/re-victimization to various forms of trauma including sexual violence. As a result, it’s no surprise that BARCC remains a critical resource for survivors who are utilizing or needing emergency shelter, and their families.
That is why BARCC stands with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, and other committed organizations to call for safe, accessible emergency shelter for all who need it. BARCC is one of over 100 organizations that signed a letter to MA legislators to ask for the immediate funding of Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter through January at the very least.
BARCC is also in support of the recommendations MA organizations laid out for the Administration and Legislature that fall into these three main categories:
-
Expand available services for newly arrived immigrant families and improve service coordination for all families experiencing homelessness.
-
Facilitate shelter exits into affordable housing.
-
Invest and improve homelessness prevention and rehousing programs.
Join us by contacting your legislators TODAY and letting them know to immediately provide supplemental funding to keep families safe!
While we continue to advocate for the right to shelter for Massachusetts residents, BARCC continues its efforts to meet the housing needs of all survivors. Learn more.
If you or a loved one are a survivor needing resources, please call BARCC’s 24/7 hotline at 800-841-8371 or send us a chat between 9 a.m.–11 p.m.
