State publishes report that lists 100 Massachusetts communities eligible to shelter migrants

BOSTON — The Healey administration published a report this week making public for the first time all of the Massachusetts towns and cities eligible to shelter migrant families.

Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus authored the report, which indicates that the state’s emergency shelter costs may approach $2 billion over the next two years.

Gorzkowicz and Augustus wrote in the report that most families live in shelters for over a year, so the Bay State will need to take a two-year approach to funding the emergency housing assistance program.

“The current average length of stay for families in the system exceeds one year. That means that even with the system’s capacity level established, deficiency needs for EA are a two-fiscal-year problem, requiring a solution that spans FY24 and FY25,” Gorzkowicz and Augustus said. “Fundamentally, the crisis of family homelessness requires a multi-faceted set of policies including shelter, supportive services, education and workforce training, and affordable housing programs that enable families to leave shelter and ultimately move on to stable housing.”

The shelter system has reached its capacity of 7,500 families, and at that level, requires additional funding to avoid imminent run-out dates for key programs, according to Gorzkowicz and Augustus. To cover the expenses, the administration plans to pull about $700 million from an escrow account, according to the report.

As of Friday, data showed 7,511 families enrolled in the Commonwealth Shelter System that are staying in shelters, motels, and hotels in 100 communities across the state.

Boston is currently sheltering more than 1,000 migrants, well more than other towns and cities. There are also hundreds of families sheltering in Worcester, Springfield, Lynn, Peabody, Lowell, and Framingham, among other areas.

In the report, the full list of communities can be found on pages seven, eight, and nine of the document below:

Gov. Maura Healey has repeatedly said that her administration is focused on getting work authorizations for the migrants.

Healey declared a state of emergency over the summer and activated the National Guard to assist with the influx of migrants.

With the colder weather setting in, Healey has said the situation with newly arriving migrants is “not sustainable,” and said she is pressing the federal government for more help.

State officials have since opened emergency shelters in Cambridge and at the Park Plaza Transportation Building in Boston.

In July, lawmakers approved a $325 million shelter budget, a sum of money that the Healey administration said would be exhausted by Jan. 13, 2024.

In November, the House approved $250 million in additional funding, and the Senate OK’d that funding as part of a supplemental budget that was passed.

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