Governor Healey filed a $282 million supplemental budget bill on January 30th, for the expansion of emergency shelter services and to prevent the free school meals program from running out of money.
According to the Governor’s press release, the state’s family emergency shelter system is currently at capacity and facing significantly elevated levels of demand by families facing homelessness. The arrival of refugees and migrants from countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, Ukraine and other Central and South American countries has led to increased demand for emergency shelters. Many of the refugees being families with young children are in dire need of housing and other services. Safe and stable housing arrangements along with other resources are necessary so families and individuals facing homelessness can survive the harsh winter weather in Massachusetts.
Bill H.47 would make the following investments:
- $85 million for the expansion of emergency shelter services. Based on current caseload projections, more than 1,100 shelter units over baseline capacity are needed, and the funds in this bill are needed to keep pace with this demand.
- $21.9 million to support schools through the end of the school year. The funding would target the communities experiencing a large influx of families with school-aged children due to state shelter placements.
- $130 million to create an offramp from the federal extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a benefit that the federal government began providing to SNAP recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic and recently announced would end in March 2023.
- $65 million to extend the universal school meals pilot program through the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
- $2 million to reimburse victims of SNAP benefit theft.
The bill also allows for the transfer of funds between HomeBASE and Emergency Shelter. The funds are allocated through the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2023). Bill H.47 is similar to Governor Baker’s proposal for shelter expansion filed in November 2022.
Lack of adequate housing has led to soaring housing costs and emergency shelters running at full capacity. The current moment in our Commonwealth’s history is an opportunity for achieving sustainable change by making the much-needed investments in housing. CHAPA advocates for swift movement of the Supplemental budget H.47 to meet the needs of families and individuals.
On February 7, CHAPA submitted a joint letter with the United Way to the House Committee on Ways and Means asking for the swift passing of the supplemental budget.