The cold, snowy and wintry weather has many of us grateful to have a warm home or office to retreat to every time we step out the door. It also brings an issue to the forefront ... homelessness.
Every night there are 4,800 Massachusetts families living in shelters and motels and an estimated 4,200 more families live in unstable, doubled up situations, move multiple times each year or are behind on rent, trying to avoid living in shelters according to the Citizen's Housing and Planning Association, also known as CHAPA.
CHAPA this week released a report hoping to offer the Baker Administration and other officials a new approach in solving the problem of family homelessness.
Hayes says twenty organizations produced the report that highlights the crisis levels in the state and analyzes the history of family homelessness in the last thirty years. She says the report "looks back at the increases of the gaps between wage and rent, the changes in our job market, the decline in economic supports for families and the the disconnects in policies and the fragmented system in place."
Hayes say the newer approach to resolve the problem of family homelessness is to shift the approach away from shelters and increase housing stability and economic mobility.
You can read the report here: http://www.chapa.org/onsolidground
To listen to the entire interview by clicking on the audio file above.
