Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey capped the emergency shelter system at 7,500 families in October, while opening up overflow sites for the hundreds of families still without a place to go and working to expedite work permits for migrants newly arrived in the state.
“It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go,” he said. Massachusetts is required to provide emergency housing to homeless families and pregnant people under a decades-old “right-to-shelter” law, similar to a New York City rule. But as state resources grew increasingly strained, Healey capped the emergency shelter system at 7,500 families in October, while opening up overflow sites for the hundreds of families still without a place to go and working to expedite work permits for migrants newly arrived in the state.