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Help us put together a list of resources to fight homelessness

Boston ranks second in the nation for homelessness, a recent study found. What organizations or resources do you recommend to help homeless people in Massachusetts?

Lifebridge North Shore's Salem Transition Center at 47 Canal Street has cots for people. (Jonathan Wiggs /Globe Staff)

By Annie Jonas

1 minute to read

Boston has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, according to a new study from Boston Indicators, the research center at the Boston Foundation.

Their research shows that Greater Boston has the second-highest per capita homelessness rate out of the nation’s 45 largest cities, due, in part, to an affordable housing crisis and recent influx of migrants.

Boston was only behind New York City, with 801 homeless people per 100,000 residents. (New York’s rate is 1,056 homeless people per 100,000 residents.)

However, the vast majority of Boston’s homeless population are living in shelters, as opposed to being unsheltered, the study found. The city has the eighth lowest rate of unsheltered homelessness, with only 6% of the region’s homeless population living unsheltered. By comparison, the national average for unsheltered homelessness is 40%.

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“Thanks to our robust shelter system and related support services, chronic homelessness in Greater Boston is also less than half the national average,” the report said.

The low rates of unsheltered homelessness are also due to Massachusetts’ “right to shelter” status. Massachusetts is the only right-to-shelter state in the country, meaning the state is required to provide shelter to people experiencing homelessness under specific circumstances. The Massachusetts law has traditionally guaranteed shelter for families with children and pregnant women. 

In response to the surge in demand for shelter with the influx of new immigrants, the state has scaled back its emergency shelter system by adding caps on shelter capacity and length of stay. These new restrictions could lead rates of unsheltered homelessness to rise as the housing market continuously fails to provide enough housing, the report said.

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Boston.com put together a list of resources on how to help migrant families in Massachusetts, and now, we want your help putting together a list of resources to help people experiencing homelessness.

What organization or resource would you recommend to help the state’s homeless population?

Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.

Help Massachusetts' homeless population

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Annie Jonas

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

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