As pressure mounts on Massachusetts shelter resources, Gov. Maura Healey is expected to hold a press conference Tuesday with an announcement about the emergency shelter system.
The Governor will speak alongside Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, as well as other officials, vendors and advocates.
Shelters, hospitals and social workers have sounded the alarm about the growing number of families in need of help in Massachusetts, including many immigrants seeking a new life in the United States and in Massachusetts.
The number of families staying in the state’s shelter system, including hotels and motels that have been converted to shelters, has nearly doubled in the past year. As of August 6 of this year, there were 5,527 families in state shelters, an increase from 3,100 families last year.
“Really, we’re dealing with a humanitarian crisis in terms of the number of people who need shelter,” said Heading Home Executive Director Danielle Ferrier. “And I think in a lot of ways it feels more like disaster relief at that time where we just need more troops here with us.”
Health care and social workers have called on Governor Healey to declare a state of emergency to take advantage of federal funding and access additional housing.
The problem has become so dire that migrants and their families have been sleeping on the floors of hospitals and emergency rooms, at the airport and even on the streets.
Around the same time as the governor’s announcement, a group of immigrant advocates and social workers plans to hold a rally at the State House demanding action.
Tuesday’s press conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
