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By State Senator Pat Jehlen

 Probably the most urgent issue in our state is the cost of housing. It’s a big part of the reason shelters are full and the state is limiting access. I’ll write about lots of end-of-session news soon.

NEW OVERFLOW SHELTER POLICY

Thursday I joined people protesting the eviction of people from the overflow shelters starting today. The Globe. Herald, and WGBH were among media outlets covering the vigil. Speakers included Kelly Turley, of Somerville, Associate Director of Mass. Coalition for the Homeless; and Dr. Lara Jimanus of Medford, who brought a letter from health professionals and others about the dangers to children.

The new policy limits migrant families to five days in the overflow shelters, although a change allows them to receive up to 30 days extension depending on their circumstances. (Channel 5 graphic on right shows some priorities. The governor may have modified the policy based on earlier protests, including letters from city councilors in Boston, Chelsea and Worcester, as well as individual councilors Judy Pineda Neufeld of Somerville and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler of Cambridge. 
Under the new policy, families newly applying for shelter will have to choose. If they stay 5 days in a temporary overflow shelter, they become ineligible for Emergency Assistance shelter for 6 months. Or they can remain on the EA waiting list even if they have nowhere else to go, and hope to get into an EA shelter in less than 6 months.
Here is a comprehensive fact sheet on the new policy, including its rationale, and priorities for placement.

The Globe reported Saturday that 57 families had been told to leave Friday, but only 11 had actually left. The Globe learned that the only family that left the Cambridge overflow shelter had headed to Springfield. WGBH had more on that story, including that some families are awaiting enrollment in HomeBASE, which is open to qualifying Massachusetts resident families.

The state is offering “intensive case management” to those being asked to leave. But it takes much longer than that to find permanent housing. The governor recently limited stays in Emergency Assistance shelters to 9 months. Until then, the average stay in a homeless shelter has been almost a year, while families search for housing they can afford. Getting a job takes a lot of time, too, even for those with English skills and recent resumes – and many jobs don’t pay enough for rent, let alone first, last, and security deposit. 

WHO’S UNHOUSED? NOT JUST MIGRANTS
Discussion of the shelter problem has centered largely on the newly-arrived immigrant families. Immigration policy is a federal issue, and the governor has asked the federal government to help with shelter costs.
But half of the families in Emergency Assistance shelters are displaced Massachusetts residents.
We can do more to keep people in their homes! It costs a lot less, in money and trauma, than helping after people lose their homes.
We all agree we need more housing. But we need policies and funds that help right now! People are being displaced every day.

The Housing Bond bill just passed includes a pilot program for foreclosure mediation. Mediation and flexible local funds can help prevent homeowners from being displaced.

We need measures to keep renters housed too.
Right-to-counsel in eviction cases could help. Since 2022, there have been more than 3000 eviction proceedings filed every month in Massachusetts, more than before the pandemic. (graph from Mass. Housing Partnership). Not all these people are eventually evicted. And many people leave through “informal eviction” because a landlord raises their rent by hundreds of dollars. 
Several communities have asked the legislature to allow them to adopt policies that could help: Right of First Refusal (or Tenant Opportunity to Purchase), rent stabilization, and Transfer Fees.

WHO’S UNHOUSED? NOT JUST FAMILIES

There is also a surge in the number of unhoused individuals. Despite the increased spending on individual shelters (graph from MassBudget), we have more people living on the street under bridges, and in cars.
The Herald is one of the few to note that “survey data shows that 30% of unhoused adults at emergency shelters and day programs in Boston are 55 and over.” I met some of them this winter at Somerville’s overnight warming center.
I was glad that the final FY 2025 budget included my amendment for $100,000 for a Somerville pilot program for bridge subsidies for people awaiting permanent affordable housing.
Boston’s annual homeless census shows historic trends in the number of unhoused people in Boston, including those in shelter, since 2008.

WE NEED IMMIGRANTS

There is a severe shortage of care workers in nursing homes, home care, and child care. The Boston Foundation report, Carework in Massachusetts, shows that immigrants are a disproportionate share of care workers.
Undocumented immigrants – who are not eligible for shelter – play an important role in the US economy, according to Mother Jones. 

HOW TO HELP
I asked one of our neighbors who is housing Haitian immigrants how he got involved. He explained that the Brazilian Workers Center has a state contract to coordinate homestays for migrants, among other services. He suggests calling them at 617-852-8254 or email emergency@braziliancenter.org. He also recommends donations, particularly to IFSI–Immigrant Family Services Institute. https://www.ifsi-usa.org/

SONG OF THE WEEK:

Deportee by Woody Guthrie in 1948. It’s worth watching John McCutcheon’s 2016 story of why Guthrie wrote it, and recent events to remember those deportees. It’s not the same situation. But the anonymity of immigrants is the same.

ANOTHER CORRECTIONOur soup/salad party on September 14 is at CAMBRIDGE Cohousing, 175 Richdale St. in Cambridge.

POEM OF THE WEEK: 
Home, by Warshan Shire. Thanks to Bob Fitzpatrick, who invited me to an event where I heard this memorable poem by a Somali immigrant from Kenya living in London, where she was named the junior poet laureate.

Here are just the first lines, but please read the whole poem:
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark 
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home when home won’t let you stay.
no one leaves home unless home chases you………
Feel free to share your thoughts.