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Healey: Two-year emergency housing cost will approach $2 billion
The state may be spending up to $2 billion to support emergency shelter for homeless families and migrants through the end of the next fiscal year, the Healey administration says.
There’s a new price tag on the mounting migrant crisis in Massachusetts. The state may be spending up to $2 billion to support emergency shelter assistance for homeless families and migrants through the end of the next fiscal year, according to a new report from the Healey administration.
The report details the administration’s plans to use $700 million worth of uncommitted, so-called escrow funds to offset the financial deficiencies in the emergency shelter system for both fiscal years.
Shelter crisis:
“The current average length of stay for families in the system exceeds one year,” the report said. “That means that even with the system’s capacity level established, deficiency needs for EA are a two fiscal year problem, requiring a solution that spans FY24 and FY25.”
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The Legislature passed a $3 billion spending bill earlier this month after clashing over funding of the emergency shelter system, the Boston Globe reported. After days of delays, lawmakers allocated $260 million to the state’s overwhelmed emergency shelter system.
The fiscal 2024 budget included $325 million for the shelter system, funding that was predicted to run out halfway through the year. According to the report, a one-time $150 million investment and $224 million from the escrow fund is needed to reach this year’s estimated $932 million cost.
The $700 million in the escrow will “thankfully” be used in its entirety for both fiscal years, the report said. It will cover the full projected cost of this fiscal year, as well as more than half of next year’s $915 million estimate.
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That means $264 million will still be needed for 2025 fiscal year.
“The Administration plans to file its supplemental budget legislation reflecting this EA Shelter Funding Blueprint in the coming weeks,” the report said.
The money will go toward housing production, school districts, and support services. As of Dec. 12, there are more than 3,516 migrant families in emergency assistance shelters of a total of 7,532 families seeking emergency assistance across the state.
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