According to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Massachusetts only has 44 of 7,500 slots open in its emergency family shelter system as of Tuesday. The government estimates that nearly half of those being sheltered are new arrivals to the state, and that half the total population being sheltered are children. Only migrants or noncitizens found to lawfully be in the commonwealth are permitted to enter the system. With need for shelter accelerating, more than 90 communities around the commonwealth are now hosting families in need, according to Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice.
“With a critical need for a safety net on the top of our mind, we are announcing that we are partnering with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay to provide $5 million to create a program with grant funding for community-based organizations, faith-based groups, and community partners to operationalize short term overnight shelter for families with no alternative option,” he said.
Democratic Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal of the 1st District discussed the issue on WAMC’s Congressional Corner.
“Well, I talked to the governor, she asked me to assemble the Massachusetts congressional delegation with Secretary Alejandro [Mayorkas], the head of Homeland Security, and we had a very good back and forth with him," said Neal. "He knows there's a problem. Governor [Maura] Healey is right, she wants to do the right thing. And my argument has been of big heart. But you need a big wallet to be a big heart. And I think that she's saying that we've always wanted to do our part. That's the humanitarian nature and history of Massachusetts. But at the same time, 7,500 families are straining our social service network. And so I think that the governor's position is one of just addressing reality.”
In Berkshire County, Pittsfield is sheltering 17 families and Great Barrington is putting up 15. To find out how the municipalities are handing the situation on the ground, WAMC spoke with Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer.
TYER: We received a communication from the state a day or so before October 30th when our first group of families arrived. And then the next day, on October 31st, we welcomed another seven families. And the state has been keeping us informed. We have a liaison from the state that we are in regular communication with. And so, we've had success in working with the state to welcome these families to our city.
WAMC: Now, what's entailed in welcoming them to Pittsfield? What goes into that?
So, the first thing and one of the most important things, of course, is making sure that they have a safe, comfortable, secure place to reside for a period of time along with regular meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner being provided. All of that is being covered by state resources. So, the state is paying for the accommodations and for the meals. The community and the community partners that are here in Pittsfield have been working together to ensure that all the other needs are being met, such as making sure medical appointments are being taken care of, providing warm clothing, and getting the children enrolled in school. So, we've been working with our community partners on those things and other things.
What is the timeline of this? When did they show up in Pittsfield, and what's the expected duration of their stay here?
So, they arrived in Pittsfield, the first group of families arrived on October 30th, and the second group of families arrived on October 31st. They have accommodations until the end of this year, so they have a place where they can get themselves situated before the next step, which would be working on housing and employment. Those things can be happening in the meantime, but they have a place a secure place until the end of the year.
Now, was this a situation where Pittsfield was told that folks are coming, or is it a situation where Pittsfield sought out the opportunity to house people?
Well, no, you know, if you've been following the commonwealth practices around emergency sheltering, we were told that we would be hosting these families. However, I knew from what I was seeing around the state that Pittsfield might be selected at some point. So even before the families arrived, I pulled together a group of city officials and community partners and we created a community care team, so that if we were called upon, we would be ready to assist.
Now, how many folks are there that Pittsfield is housing? And do you know anything about where they're coming from or their background?
Yeah, so we have a total of 37 people. There are 23 adults and 14 children. The primary home origination is Haiti. They primarily speak three languages, which is just an amazing thing. They speak Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish. And so that's their cultural makeup. We have been working with them and the food provider to ensure that they occasionally have meals that are culturally sensitive things that they would enjoy from their home. So, we're working to ensure that they feel welcomed, but also have access to things that make them comfortable.
Do you know where they're staying inside Pittsfield?
I do.
Is that-
But I’m not going to tell you. [laughs] We have decided that we will keep the location confidential, because we want to ensure the safety of the families and of the employees at the hotel where they're staying. So, we're not going to divulge where they're staying.
What do you think is the most important thing for folks in Pittsfield to understand about this situation?
A couple of things. First of all, I think it's important for the people of Pittsfield to know that these are refugees who have received refugee status, so they are here legally. And while they have this current legal status, they will be required to go through additional steps in order to achieve greater legal status. The other thing to tell people is that we have a very strong coalition working together to ensure that every newcomer has what they need, and at some point, we may be asking the community to help us provide things to help them. If they, for example, have an opportunity for an apartment, maybe there will be ways that community members in addition to the partners and the coalition that's already in place can help with donations. But stay tuned for that- We're not ready to accept community donations yet.
