The number of resident and migrant families staying in emergency shelters has dropped significantly, down 30% in eight months. And now, three-quarters of families trying to enter the shelter system are Massachusetts residents.
State officials and providers are heralding the shift as the result of policy changes made by Gov. Maura Healey last year, including the implementation of a nine-month limit on stays at shelters, and then-President Joe Biden’s asylum restrictions last summer. Some shelter service providers are also pointing to the restrictive immigration policies recently set forth by President Donald Trump.
“Due to actions taken by this [Healey] administration to limit shelter stays, connect people with work authorizations and jobs, and help families move into stable housing, we have lowered both the cost and the size of this system,” said an Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson, which runs the commonwealth’s shelter system.
Last July, over 7,600 families were in the emergency assistance program — as of March 24, state data shows that’s down to 5,392.
While the people in shelters are still divided almost 50-50 between residents and migrant families, the families seeking shelter — currently waiting to enter the system — has shifted dramatically. The state says approximately 75% of those seeking shelter are Massachusetts resident families.
Families who are in shelter are also leaving more quickly, a change one provider attributed to the state’s rental assistance program known as HomeBASE.
“We are seeing families move out into permanent housing across the commonwealth,” said Danielle Ferrier, CEO of Heading Home, a provider that operates 363 shelters in the state, varying from hotels and apartments that individual families live in to the temporary respite center in Norfolk.
The shift in the numbers could prove helpful to the strained emergency shelter system that has been repeatedly infused with hundreds of millions of dollars by legislators.
Where are families going?
The Office of Housing and Livable Communities says triple the number of families are now leaving the emergency shelter system each month, from 213 in January 2024 to 717 this past January.
More families are being shifted out of emergency shelters through the state’s taxpayer-funded HomeBASE system. Eligible households can get help finding an apartment as well as funds to cover upfront fees like a broker fee and rent for up to two years.
“The number-one factor is telling a family that you have a limited amount of time in the shelter, whether it’s six months or nine months. And that is the one thing that motivates people the most, it seems,” said Jeffrey Thielman, chief executive officer of International Institute of New England, which has a contract with the state to get a group of families out into longer-term housing.
Provider Heading Home has helped 153 families leave shelter since July 1, 2024, 124 of which used HomeBASE to exit shelter.
Ferrier believes emergency shelter will still be needed for some people given the high cost of living in the state. “But I do think the pressure is starting to come down a little bit,” she said.
The state also cited getting work authorization for nearly 5,000 shelter residents and placing them into jobs.
