Current:Home > NewsMassachusetts is creating overnight shelter spots to help newly arriving migrant families -Wealth Legacy Solutions
Massachusetts is creating overnight shelter spots to help newly arriving migrant families
View
Date:2025-04-14 05:54:58
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts has begun awarding grants to local agencies to set up temporary housing sites for homeless families as officials grapple with finding newly arriving migrants places to stay after hitting a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families in the state’s emergency homeless shelter system.
Catholic Charities Boston is the first organization to be awarded a grant to provide temporary rooms to extremely low-income families with children and pregnant individuals, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay announced this week.
The grant will pay for a site in the greater Boston area that opened on Tuesday evening and can accommodate up to 27 families, or about 81 people, as they wait to enter the state’s emergency shelter system, officials said.
Catholic Charities Boston will provide bedding, meals, staff, and security. The site is available to families eligible for the the state’s family shelter system but who could not be immediately placed in a shelter.
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey announced the $5 million grant program earlier this month.
Sarah Bartley of the United Way said the agency has already received several other grant applications. The grants are meant to support community gathering spaces with restrooms and heat, such as places of worship, community centers, and school buildings, to provide safe space for families to find short-term, congregate shelter, meals and other basic necessities, she said.
The flexible program will remain in place through the winter and spring, officials said.
On Monday, the state began letting homeless families stay overnight in the state transportation building in Boston. The space in the office building is large enough to provide overnight shelter for up to 25 families with cots and limited amenities and will only be used in the evening and overnight hours, officials said.
The space will be available to families determined eligible for emergency assistance and is expected to operate for about two weeks until additional safety net shelter sites are operational.
The spike in demand is being driven in part by migrant families entering the state. About half of the current shelter caseload are new arrivals to Massachusetts, according to the Healey administration.
As of last Friday, there were 92 families on the state’s waiting list for emergency shelter.
veryGood! (78)
Related
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Bitcoin bounces to an all-time high less than two years after FTX scandal clobbered crypto
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Blockchain Technology - Reshaping the Future of the Financial Industry
- Nab $140 Worth of Isle of Paradise Tanning Butter for $49 and Get Your Glow On
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Dakota Johnson Shares Her Outlook on Motherhood Amid Chris Martin Romance
- James Crumbley bought his son a gun, and his son committed mass murder. Is dad to blame?
- War in Gaza and settler violence are taking a toll on mental health in the West Bank
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- What to know about Alabama’s fast-tracked legislation to protect in vitro fertilization clinics
Ranking
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Teen Mom's Jenelle Evans and Husband David Eason Break Up After 6 Years of Marriage
- TLC's Chilli is officially a grandmother to a baby girl
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Application of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Slumping New Jersey Devils fire coach Lindy Ruff, promote Travis Green
- New lawsuit blames Texas' Smokehouse Creek fire on power company
- Pregnant Ayesha Curry Shares the Lessons She’s Passing on to Her 4 Kids
Recommendation
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Want to eat more whole grains? You have a lot of options. Here's what to know.
2024 Oscar Guide: International Feature
Dartmouth men's basketball team votes to unionize, shaking up college sports
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Washington state lawmakers approve police pursuit and income tax initiatives
California votes in its Senate primary race today. Meet the candidates vying for Dianne Feinstein's seat.
Ammo supplier says he provided no live rounds in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin