Participate in our organizational sign-on letters on the new Emergency Assistance regs and procedures

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December 20, 2023

Dear Robyn,

With over 300 families currently on the waiting list to access family shelter, please join us in weighing in with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC or HLC) on their new Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter emergency regulations and EA waiting list and prioritization procedures. EOHLC has enforced a cap of approximately 7,500 families in EA since November 10th, the first day a waiting list was instituted. Since then, hundreds of children and families have been approved for shelter but not immediately placed in EA, overflow, or safety net shelters. EOHLC also is looking at setting a time limit on how long families can participate in the EA program, which would be extremely destabilizing for families who have not yet secured long-term housing.

The Coalition partnered with Greater Boston Legal Services and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to draft public comments on the emergency regulations and guidance. While the comments officially were due to EOHLC on Friday, we invite you to participate in our organizational sign-on letters by completing this short form. We will be sharing the updated list of endorsing organizations with EOHLC, the Legislature, the media, and community organizations.

Please keep reading below for more details on the sign-on letters, as well as information about our ongoing Everyone Needs ID campaign to ease access to standard Mass IDs for youth and adults experiencing homelessness and a link to register for our upcoming Legislative Action Day, which will take place on Thursday, March 7th at the State House.

If you have questions, please send them to:

kelly@mahomeless.org on the Emergency Assistance campaign
julia.garvey@mahomeless.org on the Mass ID access campaign

Thank you for your collaboration!

With gratitude and best wishes for the holidays,

Kelly and Julia

Kelly Turley

She/her/hers

Associate Director

kelly@mahomeless.org

Julia Garvey

She/her/hers

Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate

julia.garvey@mahomeless.org

P.S. Stay up to date with the Coalition’s advocacy initiatives by following us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and X/Twitter. (Links also included at the top of this message.)

Resources and Links

Comments on emergency regulations, as submitted to EOHLC on December 15th: https://mahomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Public-Comments-on-EA-Emergency-Regs-12.15.23-Signed.pdf

Comments on guidance, as submitted to EOHLC on December 15th: https://mahomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Public-Comments-on-Waiting-List-Priorities-12.15.23-Signed.pdf

EOHLC's emergency declaration and related documents: https://www.mass.gov/emergency-housing-assistance

Shareable link to the endorsement form: https://tinyurl.com/ea-comments

December 18th EA report from the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F) and EOHLC to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, as required under the recent supplemental budget, Chapter 77 of the Acts of 2023: https://mahomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12.18.2023-EA-Report-Packet-Final.pdf
This report also includes FY24 and FY25 spending estimates and a preliminary plan from the Healey Administration on how to fund EA shelter and services going forward.
Read more on the WBUR website: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/12/19/healey-shelter-system-surplus-funds

More details about advocacy efforts to uphold the right to shelter for children and families: https://mahomeless.org/support-families-protect-right-to-shelter/

Everyone Needs ID Action Alert & Advocacy

For more information on the campaign, access the fact sheet here.

Please sign and share our one-minute email action to House Speaker Ron Mariano, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, and your own State Representative. The action can be signed and shared here: https://mahomeless.org/mass-id-access-action-2023/

If you are part of an organization, please also help us to get your organization to officially support this campaign by becoming an organizational endorser. The endorsement form is available here to complete and share: https://tinyurl.com/massid2324

Want to do more? Please follow up your email action with a phone call. Ask your State Representative to urge House Leadership to bring the Mass ID access bill, Senate Bill 2251, to a vote as soon as possible. State Representatives can be reached via the State House switchboard: 617-722-2000. The full contact information for each Representative is included on the Legislature’s website. Unsure who your Representative is? Find them by entering your address/address where you are staying here.