Gov. Healey orders inspection of all state-run shelters, requests $425M in funding after Revere bust

REVERE, Mass. — Changes are on the way to the emergency shelter system in Massachusetts.

Governor Maura Healey announced two big developments to keep state-run shelters safer and funded for a little longer. The governor wants all of the sites reviewed and inspected to prevent criminal activity.

The inspections will start at the Quality Inn in Revere, where a high-powered rifle and drugs were found last week.

Federal officials say 28-year-old Leonardo Sanchez was arrested after the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department recovered about $1 million worth of fentanyl and a loaded AR-15 with ammo from a room at the hotel.

Federal officials say Sanchez entered the US illegally. Healey now wants a full review of the state’s intake process to prevent any further criminal activity in the state-funded shelters.

“It’s outrageous that this individual took advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity,” Healey said in a statement issued on Monday. “I’ve ordered an inspection of all shelter units, beginning with the Revere site, and a full review of our intake processes to determine any additional steps that we can take to prevent criminal activity in shelters.”

Speaking of funding, Healey is also requesting another $425 million from a reserve account to keep the emergency shelter assistance program running for the next six months. Already, her office announced a series of changes to shorten the length of stay and phase out the use of hotels and motels.

The hope is that those changes will reduce costs after the shelters rang up a bill of about a billion dollars last year.

Healey also sent lawmakers a fiscal blueprint, which outlines how to make the shelter system more sustainable in the long term, including reducing the caseloads from 7,500 families to 4,000 families by June of 2026.

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