Massachusetts awarded $20 million in federal funds for emergency family shelter system; here is where it’s going

Alison Kuznitz

Massachusetts has secured more than $20 million in federal funding to help cover the state’s overburdened emergency family shelter system, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced Wednesday afternoon.

Healey’s office said the money — the largest sum that Massachusetts has received to date from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program — comes after the administration filed an application in June with the City of Boston.

“Massachusetts urgently needs federal support as we work to meet unprecedented demand on our family shelter system as a result of a surge in immigrant families arriving in our state,” Healey said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration has taken important steps to address this federal problem in light of Congress’s failure to act, and they are seeing results with illegal border crossings down significantly. But more needs to be done. Congress needs to step up and pass the bipartisan border security agreement.”

The state is receiving the bulk of the award and will steer the funds toward temporary shelters, where families are now limited to five-day stays, a controversial change from the Healey administration that’s drawn criticism from anti-homelessness and immigration advocates.

Boston will receive about $1.3 million of the award, Healey’s office said.

A surge in demand, from Massachusetts-based families and migrants arriving from other countries, has caused state spending on family shelters to approach $1 billion per year.