27-02-2025
Coalition for Homeless Individuals calls for budget funding
BOSTON (WWLP) – Lawmakers are working on their drafts of the next state budget and the Coalition for Homeless Individuals held a State House Lobby Day to request funding.
The Coalition focuses on the individual homeless shelter system, which functions separately from the family system. Individuals experiencing homelessness are not protected by Massachusetts' right to shelter law.
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Advocates say the system is an effective functional safety net, and consists of emergency shelters, transitional services to rebuild health and work skills, and supportive housing for people who are unable to live independently long-term. Housing Secretary Ed Augustus said that despite the state's effort, homelessness in the Bay State is on the rise.
'I'm very worried given what we're hearing out of Washington, we're going to see more headwinds as we combat homelessness,' Augustus said.
One western Massachusetts provider said resources are stretched especially thin in more rural parts of the state.
'This year, the numbers are out of control. said Jane Banks, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Community Development. 'In Greenfield, we have 45 beds, and we served 74 people for 2,441 bed nights.'
The coalition is requesting $121 million to fund provider programs, and $10 million to help providers with workforce development.
This funding would need to be established in a compromise version of House and Senate budget drafts and approved by Governor Healey to go into effect for next fiscal year.
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