Sam Drysdale
State House News Service

Massachusetts plans to shrink its family shelter system to about 3,200 units even as lawmakers warn half the beds are empty while some homeless families are turned away.

State housing officials are preparing to rebid contracts with shelter providers for only the second time in roughly two decades, aiming to align the Emergency Assistance family shelter system with sharply reduced demand after sweeping eligibility restrictions were imposed during the state's migrant-driven shelter crisis.

During a budget hearing Monday in Barnstable, lawmakers from both parties raised alarms that the system — now far smaller and far less crowded than at its peak — is both operating at roughly half capacity while some families also still cannot access shelter.

Democrat Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton and Republican Sen. Kelly Dooner of Taunton both raised what they described as a disheartening outcome of the state's new policies.

"We're essentially at 50% occupancy at the lower rate, when it drops to 3,200," Comerford said. "And I think we have a responsibility... to try to find a better balance."

State officials say they are designing a more flexible system after a historic surge that forced the state to spend billions and rapidly expand capacity.

Beginning July 1, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities plans to procure between 3,000 and 3,200 shelter units statewide under a new round of contracts with nonprofit providers.

"We're looking to procure a mix of unit types so that we have a stronger, more resilient and more flexible program than the one that existed before," said Chris Thompson, undersecretary of housing stabilization.

The rebidding process comes after the surge in demand during 2023 and 2024, when Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency as the number of families seeking shelter exploded.

At the height of the crisis, the administration capped the system at 7,500 families. 

The state ultimately spent nearly $1 billion on the Emergency Assistance shelter system in fiscal year 2025.

Since then, the administration and Legislature enacted sweeping changes aimed at reducing demand and controlling costs.

Lawmakers tightened eligibility rules, prioritized Massachusetts residents, imposed time limits on shelter stays, and added security requirements.

The policies succeeded in dramatically shrinking the shelter population — but the changes have also created a new dynamic.

As of March 5, only 1,522 families were staying in Emergency Assistance shelter units out of roughly 3,300 available units statewide.

That means roughly half the system is currently empty.

"If we're procuring at 3,200 beds, and there are people right now being turned away from family shelter, I think it's incumbent on us to try to get full, at least increase the occupancy," Comerford said. "I understand we can't go back to hotels, and I understand there isn't an appetite to go higher than 3,200, but if we're at 1,600 of 3,200, that means there are 1,600 families who could be in shelter now, and instead, some are being turned away."

She described providers in her region struggling with the restrictions.

"So, as you know undersecretary, in my region the stat that we've spoken about is in Pittsfield ServiceNet, at one moment 29 beds, but there were two were occupied, but yet they turn away people," Comerford said.

Comerford urged lawmakers to acknowledge that the declining caseload is partly the result of stricter policies.

"Going forward, I think we have to be careful and not say that our numbers are lower because everyone who needs shelter is being served adequately," she said. "In some cases, our numbers are lower because we've closed the door to these families."

She said the government has to "own that" and "wrestle with it" to be "honest with each other" and providers, and added, "I feel like I bear some responsibility here, but I think it's a bigger problem than just the legislative piece of this responsibility."

Dooner, a Republican, echoed the concern — and said it is difficult to justify empty shelter units when families remain unhoused.

"I cannot stand driving by the EA shelters and seeing them empty," Dooner said. "And I randomly, I'll pop in there on my way by, and to hear that the whole place is empty is just so disheartening."

"When 1. we're paying for those beds and 2. people need those beds, but they're ineligible," she added. "I don't want to see families living on the street when we have beds available for them."

Thompson acknowledged the concern and said officials are continuing to adjust the system as demand evolves.

"I'm with you. I never want to hear about a family who is in need of shelter and is not able to access it because of our system," he said.

State officials say the rebidding process will create a system that can scale up or down more easily if demand spikes again.

"One of the challenges that we had in 2023 was that the only option to us on the table was to continue to expand until we made policy changes," Thompson said. "So we really want to build a system that's more flexible, should that happen again."

The new procurement also reflects other structural changes introduced over the past year.

In January, the state shut down its "Rapid Shelter Track," overflow shelters created during the crisis to house families temporarily when traditional shelters were full.

Under that program, families could stay in overflow shelters for up to 30 days while receiving intensive help securing stable housing, including job placement support, work authorization assistance and English classes.

Although the overflow track has been deactivated, the state's request for proposals instructs providers to be ready to reactivate it if demand rises again.

The procurement does not rely on hotels and motels — a hallmark of the response during the crisis.

The state instead plans to contract with up to 50 shelter providers across Massachusetts.

Families will generally receive a single bedroom unit and can stay up to six months in shelter. They may apply for a hardship extension of up to 35 days or a "lease bridge" extension of up to 42 days if they have secured housing but need additional time to move.

Adults in the household must participate in at least 30 hours per week of "self-sufficient activities," including employment, education, training programs, community service, or substance use treatment.

Officials say the redesigned system reflects lessons learned during the crisis.

"The EA Family Shelter Program has undergone significant transformation in recent years," Thompson wrote in a cover letter for the RFP.

"In the wake of a humanitarian crisis and the most rapid and substantial increase in demand in the program's history, EA Family Shelter providers were instrumental ... as the caseload doubled within a single year and shelter capacity expanded rapidly across the Commonwealth."

He added that the current moment offers an opportunity to stabilize the program.

"The shelter caseload is now lower than it has been in recent history and more families than ever have been supported to rapidly rehouse," Thompson wrote.

State spending has fallen sharply as the caseload has declined.

Healey's fiscal year 2027 budget proposes $259 million for Emergency Assistance shelter, about $18 million less than the current budget and roughly $45 million below estimated spending this year — and hundreds of millions less than peak spending during the crisis.

Rep. Russell Holmes of Boston questioned whether the state is effectively paying for unused capacity.

"Next year, we're going to spend on this budget $258 million. That's about where we were before the 7,500 number and the crisis, correct?" Holmes said. "So, we're right back to about what we have been historically."

He asked whether the current occupancy rate means the state is spending millions on empty units.

Thompson rejected that framing, saying the system includes infrastructure beyond the physical units themselves.

"I wouldn't put it like that," he said.

"I would say that there's a core infrastructure that's in place that includes things like case management ... there are other services and supports that are available across the caseload that a program supports," he said.

Officials also emphasized that over 90% of families seeking shelter today are long-time Massachusetts residents. 

Thompson said the goal of the procurement is to improve quality while reducing costs.

"The appropriation is going down from this current fiscal year to next fiscal year," he said. "We think we'll have a higher quality, stronger, more resilient shelter system on the other side of it."