Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order Thursday activating up to 250 members of the National Guard to provide basic services at emergency shelter hotels that do not currently have a contracted service provider.
The Healey administration said there are about 40 emergency shelter hotels where displaced families — including migrants — are staying that Guard members could be deployed at. But state officials said they will evaluate which sites require members and deploy them next week.
“Massachusetts is in a state of emergency, and we need all hands-on deck to meet this moment and ensure families have access to safe shelter and basic services,” Healey said in a statement. “… While we work to implement a more permanent staffing solution, the National Guard will provide an efficient and effective means of delivering these services and keeping everybody safe.”
The mobilization comes weeks after Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts because an influx of migrants started to crowd the already burdened emergency shelter system. The increase in new arrivals along with surging housing costs here has put a strain on the emergency shelter system.
Massachusetts is a right-to-shelter state, which guarantees shelter and subsistence for eligible displaced families, including newly arrived migrants who are fleeing unstable conditions in their home counties.
There are more than 700 families in hotels that do not have contracted service providers, said Kelly Turley, associate director at the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. Most times, municipalities, faith groups, and community organizations have stepped up to help families in those locations.
“But because it’s happening very quickly, without a lot of notification of where families are being placed, it’s made it difficult even for community groups that would want to help out to know how to plug into that,” Turley said. “There has been some push from providers and advocates around having MEMA or some other entity help [the Executive Office of] Housing and Livable Communities really coordinate the services.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office and City Council President Ed Flynn, who is serving as acting mayor, received calls from the governor’s office alerting them that there would be National Guard presence in Boston Friday, to support staff at hotels that are housing displaced families, sources familiar with the calls told the Herald.
The National Guard will be in the city “for a period of time,” a source said, including at the emergency shelter site at Marriott South Bay, where migrant and displaced families are staying.
The Guard will help to support displaced families staying in Boston, but there is not necessarily a staffing shortage at hotels in the city. The presence is more about supporting another municipality dealing with that issue, a source said.
“The National Guard is coming into Boston to assist with implementation and support of migrant families,” a source said. “It’s just to make things easier for the families, coordinate services, streamline services, provide the families with a little bit more assistance and ensure things go smoothly.”
In a statement to the Herald, Flynn said the National Guard has “tremendous experience in assisting cities and towns through the commonwealth.”
“During emergencies and difficult times, including the pandemic, the men and women of the National Guard have answered the call to service and we are fortunate to have that experience and leadership once again helping the residents of Boston,” he said.
As of Wednesday, there were 6,073 displaced families — including migrants — staying in the state’s emergency shelter system, according to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Some emergency shelter sites in Massachusetts, such as an Eastern Nazarene College dorm in Quincy, are staffed with contracted service providers. The Quincy college dorm is run by the shelter management firm AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which has its United States office in Reston, Virginia.
Healey previously said Massachusetts is spending more than $45 million on programs and emergency shelters for newly-arrived migrants and displaced families. As part of her state of emergency declaration, Healey made an appeal to the federal government for help.
“Although Massachusetts is adding shelter units every week, without extraordinary measures, we fear we will be unable to add capacity fast enough to place all eligible families into shelter,” Healey said in a letter to the federal government. “Even though we are currently spending more than $45 million per month on programs to help these families, our ability to create enough new shelter space and to provide necessary supportive services is falling short.”
State employees will staff the Regional Rapid Response Teams, which will be tasked with overseeing sites in a given geographic region to better coordinate services and serve as central points of contact.
“The Regional Response Teams will prepare sites for opening, communicate site-specifics to inform placements, arrange connection to public benefits, and support municipal and legislative partners,” the Healey administration said in a statement.
This is not the first time the Healey administration has activated Guard members to deal with shelter-related issues.
Healey activated up to 50 Guard members to support “townhouse-style” housing at Joint Base Cape Cod for displaced families.
Massachusetts National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe said the Guard is committed to assisting residents.
“Our role in the response to the ongoing housing crisis will expand to leverage our multitude of robust and adaptable capabilities in emergency and domestic operations to help those in need,” he said in a statement.
