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As the 189th Legislative Session begins, we are asking for your help in reaching out to your State Senator and State Representative to ask for their support for three bills addressing critical gaps in resources for people experiencing homelessness and other low-income households.
Specifically, we are requesting that you ask your legislators to co-sponsor the three following bills:
Additional information about these bills is below. To find out who your elected officials are, please go to www.wheredoivotema.com. The State House switchboard number is 617-722-2000.
Please reach out to your legislators as soon as possible. The deadline for House members to co-sponsor bills is next Friday, 1/30. The Senate just changed their rules to allow for a longer co-sponsorship window, but we are hoping to get as many initial co-sponsors as possible to show broad-based support of these bills.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the bills or co-sponsorship.
As this new legislative session gets underway, we look forward to continuing to collaborate with you to make greater strides toward reducing and ending homelessness across the Commonwealth!
With gratitude,
Kelly Turley
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An Act Relative to Assisting Elders and People with Disabilities in the Commonwealth
Lead sponsors: Representative James O'Day and Senator Patricia Jehlen
House Docket Number 2741
This bill would:
- Increase monthly grants under the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children Program (EAEDC) to match the benefit levels provided under the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program for households of comparable size
- Remove the 70% benefit reduction/penalty for individuals experiencing homelessness
- Increase the allowable personal asset limit from $250 to $2,500
- Create an annual cost of living adjustment for EAEDC program participants
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An Act Providing a Homeless Bill of Rights
Lead Sponsor: Representative William Smitty Pignatelli
House Docket Number 691
This bill would:
- Ensure that people experiencing homelessness have the same rights as any other resident of Massachusetts by seeking to prevent discrimination based on housing status
- Reinforce the following rights:
- The right to move freely in public spaces
- The right to equal treatment by municipal agencies
- Freedom from discrimination in employment
- The right to emergency medical care
- The right to register to vote and to vote
- Freedom from disclosure of records
- The right to a reasonable expectation of privacy of property
- Outline these rights as a statement of legislative intent, as a guide for state and municipal agencies
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An Act to End Child Homelessness
Lead sponsor: Representative Denise Provost
House Docket Number 231
This bill would:
- Protect many children and families who are at imminent risk or experiencing homelessness from having to stay in places not meant for human habitation
- Require the Department of Children and Families (DCF), in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), to conduct an assessment to ensure that no child under the age of 18 would be forced to stay in a place not meant for human habitation upon a household's eviction from subsidized housing or termination from a publicly funded shelter
- For children at risk of having to stay in such conditions, DCF and DHCD would develop and implement a plan to ensure that they are housed in a safe location, with every reasonable effort being made to keep those children in the care and custody of their parents/guardians
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