The number of homeless families in need of shelter has exploded in the past year, largely driven by an influx of immigrants coming into the country legally but unable to work under federal immigration laws. Since Nov. 10, 1,393 families have applied to live in Emergency Assistance housing, according to a Jan. 2  statement from the Healey administration.

Approximately 22 families are arriving per day now, down from about 35 to 40 per day in late summer, according to an Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson. Despite a state right-to-shelter law, Gov. Healey unilaterally capped the shelter system at 7,500 families last fall. That waitlist has also been rising, jumping from 242 on Dec. 12 to 391 by Dec. 28.

The new report from the Healey administration offers details on what happens to families that are eligible for emergency shelter but placed on the waiting list and deprioritized amidst a shortage of units in which to place families.

“Families on our waitlist are provided assistance with transportation to locations within Massachusetts of their choosing and information on additional state resources and assistance in finding housing,” the report said. “For example, EOHLC administers the HomeBASE program, which can provide eligible homeless families with help paying first/last month’s rent and security deposits, moving expenses, stipends to help with ongoing housing costs, and other costs that can help families stabilize an existing housing situation or stably rehouse.”

The housing secretariat also partners with the Department of Transitional Assistance and MassHealth to connect families with available benefits, it said.

“Lastly, when space is available, families on the waitlist are offered overnight shelter at state-run overflow sites – in Quincy, Revere, and Cambridge – as well as through sites administered via our partnership with the United Way,” the report said.
Lawmakers steered $250 million more into the shelter system this winter, and the mid-December report suggested that more than $350 million in additional funds may need to be authorized to keep the system funded through June and to “avoid imminent run-out dates for key programs.”

In what has quickly become a more and more expensive line item, the latest report also shows that the state spent an additional $42 million on the shelter system in just the last two weeks of 2023. A mid-December report said $205 million had been spent on emergency assistance housing in fiscal year 2024; Tuesday’s report reveals $247 million has been spent on the program this fiscal year.

Healey has repeatedly said her administration is focused on getting work authorizations to help migrants who are eager to earn the money needed to leave the state shelter system and support their families financially. According to the new report, the number of people living in shelters who can legally work in the US has more than tripled.

As of Dec. 12, 813 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the EA system were authorized to work in the US; by Dec. 28, that number had grown to 2,713. The Healey administration and the US Department of Homeland Security hosted clinics in November to help immigrants work through the authorization process, and said 2,910 individuals received help.