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State report: Western Mass. communities hosting significant numbers of families in state emergency shelter system

New England Public Media | By Alden Bourne
Published December 22, 2023 at 5:00 PM EST
Morad Majjad, left, is a family liaison with the West Springfield Public Schools, seen here outside a hotel that has become an emergency shelter for families without housing. Many families arrived in Massachusetts over the last few months from outside the U.S. They face, among other hurdles, a language barrier. Majjad is multi-lingual and regularly connects with parents and children around school needs.
Jill Kaufman
/
NEPM
Morad Majjad, left, is a family liaison with the West Springfield Public Schools, seen here outside a hotel that has become an emergency shelter for families without housing. Many families arrived in Massachusetts over the last few months from outside the U.S. They face, among other hurdles, a language barrier. Majjad is multi-lingual and regularly connects with parents and children around school needs.

The administration of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has released a new report outlining where families seeking emergency shelter are being housed.

The state said fewer than half the 7,532 families in the shelter system entered as refugees, migrants or asylum seekers.

Springfield leads the way in western Massachusetts, hosting almost 300 families in emergency shelters, followed by Holyoke and Chicopee. Roughly 100 families are in West Springfield at a Clarion Hotel.

West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt said it's not an ideal situation.

"It's tough on these families that had to come here," he said. "But, at the same time, I don't really think hotels are the best way to shelter folks. And at the rate that they're coming in and the numbers the governor just released about how much this is going to cost, I don't see that it's sustainable for the state."

State officials estimate providing emergency shelter could end up costing $2 billion over two years.

Reichelt said his town has received more than $360,000 from the state to help pay for the education of students in the shelter system.
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Regional News IMMIGRATIONHOUSINGFAMILIESWESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Alden Bourne
Before joining New England Public Media, Alden was a producer for the CBS NEWS program 60 Minutes. In that role, he covered topics ranging from art, music and medicine to business, education and politics.
See stories by Alden Bourne