The landscape of housing for displaced families in Massachusetts is set to undergo a significant shift as the state prepares to close the majority of hotel shelters, currently serving as temporary homes for homeless families, starting next week. According to The Boston Globe, Massachusetts officials confirmed on Friday that out of the 28 hotels remaining in the Emergency Assistance shelter program, 24 are expected to shut down on Monday. The remaining four are slated to continue operations through the end of July.
In a broader plan to reform the shelter system, Governor Maura Healey had declared a state of emergency nearly two years past, responding to the significant influx of migrant families that required immediate accommodation and support. Her administration had initially aimed to completely phase out the hotel shelters by the end of 2025 but is now set to do so six months ahead of schedule. The Governor's office cites the inefficiency and impracticality of hotel shelters, as well as the progress in families moving to more sustainable housing situations as key reasons for the accelerated closure.
Boston 25 News reported Governor Healey's position on the subject last month, where she emphasized, "A hotel is no place to raise a family, and they are the least cost-effective." She continued, "That’s why we implemented reforms to lower caseloads and the cost of the shelter system. We also promised to close all hotel shelters by the end of the year. I’m pleased that we are ahead of schedule, with more families getting jobs and moving to stable housing."
The program reached its peak in 2024, when at one point the Emergency Assistance system was operating 128 hotels to provide shelter for roughly 7,500 families, which added up to more than 23,000 individuals. This monumental surge was initiated in the fall of 2022 and rapidly grew in August 2023 when the state emergency was declared, and the National Guard was activated. Despite the imminent shutdown of these shelters, state officials are working to ensure to smoothly transition affected families to alternate housing solutions.
This move represents a change in the state's approach to addressing the housing crisis, demonstrated by the reduced use of hotels as temporary shelter for the homeless population. Additional updates are expected as the closures approach and families transition toward other housing arrangements.
