House Speaker Ron Mariano raised questions Tuesday about Gov. Maura Healey’s gambit to put a capacity limit on emergency shelter available to newly-arrived migrants and homeless families in Massachusetts.
The state’s right-to-shelter law requires officials to provide homeless families and pregnant women with temporary housing, including migrants who are in Massachusetts lawfully. The mandate has created what public leaders have described as an unsustainable situation — a non-stop flow of new arrivals makes for a never-ending demand for shelter.
But Healey said Monday the state would limit the number of families in emergency assistance shelters to 7,500 and put those who cannot fit on a waitlist, a move Mariano said creates uncertainty for many.
“I don’t know if she has the authority to cap it,” Mariano said. “What happens if someone shows up? What does she do? We haven’t got a clear answer for that. If there is no place to put them, where do they go?”
Healey said the state will not guarantee placement for families who arrive after the end of October, when she predicted Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system will reach capacity.
What happens to families after that point is unclear and legal questions remain about whether the administration cannot guarantee placement.
“We are not ending the right to shelter law. We are being very clear, though, that we are not going to be able to guarantee placement for folks who are sent here after the end of this month,” Healey said. “… We’re going to do what we can. Obviously, this is part of why it’s so important that we have the exit strategies that we talked about.”
The Healey administration said families seeking shelter will be assessed “and those with high needs, such as health and safety risks, will be prioritized for placement.”
A pair of rapid rehousing and rental assistance programs “will be expanded,” the administration said, and two new programs will help shelter residents access employment.
