Massachusetts Hates on Homeless Families

http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/massachusetts_hates_on_homeless_families

by Josie Raymond

Starting April 1, Massachusetts will deny shelter to homeless families through a number of draconian new rules. If families have been evicted or left public housing “without good cause” in the last three years, they’re out. If they have earned above the poverty level for three straight months, they’re out (the current rule is six months). If they don’t work 30 hours per week and save 30 percent of their income, they’re out. If they are absent from a shelter for two nights in a row, they’re out. If a family’s only children are between 18 and 21 and aren’t disabled or in high school, they’re out.

Massachusetts is sheltering more families than ever before this month, 2,700 in all, which makes it a strange time to introduce regulations limiting who can get shelter. The rules will save the state an infinitesimal amount of money over the next two years — $11 million out of a $28 billion budget — 0.0004 percent. A bigger goal is to push families out of the state’s 59 shelters so that families who’ve been waiting in motels paid for by the state (about 25 percent of all the homeless families) can move in. (Does no one see the coming cycle of being pushed out of shelters, struggling, winding up in motels and then back in shelters?)

In what was either a serious judgment lapse or a display of her naivete, the commissioner of the Department of Transitional Assistance, Julia E. Kehoe, told the Boston Globe, “Given our limited resources, we wanted to encourage people to find housing or stay where they are, rather than encouraging them to come into the system.” I assure you, Ms. Kehoe, no one comes to a shelter because it sounds like fun.

I suppose I should add something to this, but as is so often the case, commenting on a homelessness.change.org article is a bit above my pay grade. I am only the signpost. Good work as always, peoples.