Amid migrant crisis, Massachusetts debates how best to keep families housed

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate has approved limits on how long homeless families can stay in emergency state shelters as part of an $850 million plan to fund the system at the center of the migrant crisis.

Under the bill approved late Thursday by a vote of 32-8, the state would limit maximum stays to nine months with the possibility of 90 more days for veterans, pregnant women and people who are employed or enrolled in a job training program.

The bill already passed the House, and would provide funding covering the rest of fiscal 2024 and part of 2025. The bill is expected to go to a conference committee before Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signs it.

Currently, there are no limits on the time a family can spend in emergency housing.

Democratic state Sen. Michael Rodrigues, who chairs the Senate Ways & Means Committee, called this proposal fiscally responsible and humane. He noted that Massachusetts residents make up more than half the people in the shelters, and said “thousands” would end up on the streets if funding runs out.

“The plan we are considering today in the supplemental budget strikes an appropriate balance,” Rodrigues told lawmakers. “We responsibly ramped down projected program cost over time, placed families on a pathway to exit the shelter system into more stable housing, and put into motion a much larger public conversation on the future direction of the (emergency assistance) shelter program.”

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