Local News

Newton mayor confirms safety-net shelter, says rumors of violence of unfounded

A parish in Nonantum will be housing families through May, the statement said.

Ruthanne Fuller Newton Mayor speaking during a public forum in 2023. Photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

February 15, 2024

1 minute to read

A church in Newton has been serving as a safety-net overflow family shelter since November, the mayor confirmed Tuesday.

The location of the shelter on Washington Street in Nonantum for migrants and homeless families was disclosed to dispel rumors of violence, according to a joint statement from the Catholic Charities and Our Lady Help of Christians Parish released by Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.

The pastor of the church endorsed the announcement in a separate statement and said that “numerous questions have arisen about the shelter.”

The parish is providing temporary shelter for up to 30 families at a time through May, the mayor said. The shelter previously served as a women and children’s shelter for decades but has been empty due to “programming changes,” according to the statement.

The site is staffed at all hours of the day with security, and the children at the shelter are not enrolled in Newton Public Schools. Children there range from 10 months to 8 years old, the statement said.

Catholic Charities and the parish said the security is due to increased targeting of volunteers and staff “for helping migrants with basic needs.” They also said instances of some of the children being sheltered there pulling fire alarms caused “unnecessary response and disturbance.”

“However, other reports of violence at this site are not accurate and we caution those who don’t know the facts from sharing rumors that could cause an unfortunate portrayal of the families we are caring for in our community,” the organizations said in their statement. “The families here are in need of our help, not condemnation.”

The shelter is funded from state grants and through United Way, a nonprofit.

Recently, another overflow shelter opened at a recreational center in Roxbury, to the surprise of some residents. There are also safety net sites in Cambridge, Quincy, and Revere.

The organizations asked for support in the joint statement, either monetarily through Catholic Charities’s Ash Wednesday collection or prayers.

“We consider these families people not problems,” the statement said.