With less than three weeks until their deadline, the commission tasked with evaluating the future of Massachusetts' overburdened emergency family shelter system reviewed a draft report Tuesday to help policymakers better handle the influx of migrants and Bay Staters experiencing homelessness.
Commission members plan to reconvene next week to approve the report, which outlines a path for making the system more financially sustainable, reducing the state's reliance on hotels and motels for emergency shelter, offering more tailored services for families, and bolstering the supply of affordable housing across Massachusetts.
"My expectation is we are going to have to make additional recommendations for shifts in policy to try and address the shortage of funding that we will see in the next fiscal year, in fiscal year 2026," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who chairs the commission, told members as they grappled Tuesday morning with the scope of their work and the ongoing EA shelter challenges the Healey administration faces.
"It's not as though you can take 7,500 on July 1 (and) on July 2, not have 7,500 families, so this will take concerted action," Driscoll continued as she referenced the administration's shelter cap. "And we have viewed this commission as really about what are we building going forward, so that we have a better system for homeless families and one that follows the principles that we've talked about: brief, rare, non-recurring, operationally and fiscally sustainable."
With members still reviewing the draft of the report and considering potential changes, Driscoll said the commission plans to meet next Tuesday afternoon to vote on the document, which is currently 35 pages.
The commission is under a Dec. 1 deadline to submit a report to the Legislature with recommendations about the "sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness" of the EA shelter system, "how to best support and ensure the long-term sufficiency of those seeking shelter," and "creating a regional based response to support families in need of shelter."
Emergency shelter costs topped $1 billion in fiscal year 2024.
